When Taiwanese pianist Huang Hsin-I and his fiancé Ramy Inocencio were discussing the arrangements for their wedding in Taiwan, Hsin-I warned Ramy that the beginning of August (their chosen date) was peak typhoon season.
They also discussed how the country was overdue a large earthquake and whether they would be tempting fate by marrying during o3e3gv5fxb-XkypDazr5A7TJstFiI7YEwRN5dD$R0Xeb7_5ZZBGhost Month—a big no no in Taiwanese culture.
But, Hsin-I and his a!f%^FTG$fBW&A(04wV3PXMZAC=rlhPQQD155=fnT^_&3n3j#@kward-winning journalist fiancé were determined to wed in Taipei.
They wanted to celebr@HdHy5epHPtz#OhZ_TYYPUp(tjtzULx(fzSfymop3%$SL5eoC8ate Taiwan’s landmark move to recognize same-sex marriage earlier this year.
And,RIe05zNcDlJHxqsPl2tSao4!%(6=ZwXx=_TejqziEi&bR)vJur it was important for them to show solidarity with the Taiwanese people making waves for LGBTI rights in Asia.
But, their determination was rocked (literally) when one of the largest earthquakes to hit Taiwan in recent years woke them up at five in the morning just two days before their wedding ceremony was due to take place.
Things became more complicated when they discovered Typhoon Lekima was also barQnd+#vaRQV#KLUC=6Ue1vsnbY*!j@KobryDavcPTr*NJ*9)uCrreling towards the country.
More than 100 guests were scheduled to attend the wedding banquet at Taipei 101’s Ding Xian on the Satur%t1vvIX^tr%ki9_qGaIbzE0XanfIi8U)J-!ioMtNX&2(+SVnUGday.
Force 9 winds also scuppered Ramy and Hsin-I’s meticulously planned day trip to Jiu Fen and the north coast for some of the more than 60 friends and family who had travelled tBKzjXcb)+3nHjgM+wjuyPWXww*8cBB=gZ8*fQet$dvf#rWSy_Jo Taiwan from Singapore, the Philippines and New York to attend their wedding.
"There was a lot more stress and tension than we were expecting,” said Ramy. But, he said “a series of natural disasters befitting a screenplay couldn’t stop u2X6satRpf-fuOo@gaN(O@9grFdapQiS6^ZD8@-gVr$cDVe$0Q7s”.
Hsin I, Ramy and their parents (Photo: Tyler Lyons)
"We just rolled with it"
Hsin-I, who's faZJ#ua_1w5oVc%NyNAYK58d#O!$M6kC8Ge@LNuo8vCSrl1#8UK-ther is from Taoyuan, met Ramy on Tinder in New York in 2015.
A couple of years later, they had been talking about their future together and the possibilities of starting a family. On a visit to Paris, Ramy po#FgXuhi281UX-jenPRj+bMI8joP1_qMB0L1v-eKxkPIL4eg@NLpped the question.
In his vows on the wedding day, Ramy described Hsin-I as the "anchor to my kite”. He explained how Hsin-I grounded him and supported him. “That was how we got through all _WmV$B_qg60HlffVfL@i1-dHMJh+UkN(K1E=&qybzo21y!CM5hthe disasters”, he said.
So, when the pair received panicked calls from Ding Xian on the night before the wedding explaining that Taipei 101 would be clonhVr7uKjcJou82f(wbCnaYArOMkh)p@rs^($rlyrv79o9X4rdBsed the following day due to the typhoon, Hsin-I diligently spoke to the venue, photographers, singers, and guests to rearrange the wedding for a day later.
Ramy did his part br&laK1B^YU$_4xQc&aTUw2dX=-Sdwo+vMS@=!_Csmv$AvrrO$-y keeping their guests entertained. “We didn’t fight, we just rolled with it” Ramy said of the last-minute change of plans.
The pair had already had a nightmare day. They hastily rearranged a mountain and seaside day trip due to the bad weather. Luckily Hsin-I and his family pulled some strings to host their guests at a Hakka restaurant in T()X4t=o#Uc9xm4Q_QVgdiP2xtFxFRnB9(8onup=I*o!i3nMKetaoyuan, a nod to his family’s heritage.
Hsin-I did considDjRSi3z-#KVbp2^7M%lPXCf$$eW^VH8OMB_JRvg0^36DdxgfK2er hot springs as an alternative wet-weather activity. But, the pair thought all the guests seeing each other naked prior to the wedding might be a little “too close for comfort”.
Ramy and Hisn-I said their visiting friends and family were super supportive of the last minute changes. They sent $fc@tWWL4IUai867ZdMW!ySwl&UgabOfLVEmgKj_YrPD19=i&bsmiling selfies to them throughout the tumult. Virtually all of the guests were able to attend the rearranged ceremony.
Ramy and Hsin-I kiss outside Taipei 101 (Photo: Tyler Lyons)
The ceremony
As both of the grooms come from Asian families (Ramy’s parents are from the Philippines and Singapore) Ramy and Hsin-I wanted to show respect to their parents during the ceremony.
On the EPi=im_jddLpHg!SV7Fo*+gM4CM$EsAQZrdXns+NpkhZx4dOiLbig day, the grooms’ respective parents walked their sons halfway down the aisle. The pair then walked the remaining way together.
Thes_v&XalVJo%5SZ9SnhR9aeyID@@^fF8QLCcc4#4y=Ls*QoO)B1re was also a mother’s dance to give them their time in the limelight. Ramy explained that having a same-sex wedding was liberating, as there was no rule book to follow on how the ceremony should be.
The pair opted for traditional Taiwanese banquetQFd8sK8Isk@Jh=bbVCRlgVZXDVO_&EX=cxna4WVjO7GzM8vdKG-style seating. But, the celebrations started with cocktails. “Alcohol was very important for our guests” Ramy explained.
Hsin-I said his mother decided it was not a traditional TaiwanesGCickPvpss@jr15jD4UF-P8*nu51t*8mf&795*C1@DgPbWGK6Ge wedding.
The ceremony was also a celebration of acceptance. Ramy was not sure whether to invite conservative family membersnqP$OG5%QE2Cd@4E95Gcv@yh^)WU)y@zJi-tIQX4^+^6#b---$ from the Philippines and Singapore. But, he decided that if he didn't, he may regret it later. They all came.
Hsin-I’s mother told Ramy to no longer call her "HuanlhPfW!Y%qIHF8zWUnK%JW$Jo2%^p7WR_zE&0ahB9ca52WpSv(eg mama" but simply “Mama". Hsin-I’s godmother, who when they first met referred to Ramy as “that person”, now calls him “My Ramy”.
Ramy’s uncle from the Philippines, meanwhile, made a point of personally welcominMbR(gwC^e$TVsAo(K)cII-gM$MO9ETw%vWlm-DEI-2yU9OlgwCg Hsin-I to the family.
Hsin-I and Ramy kiss in front of a cake featuring their dog, Cooper. (Photo: Tyler Lyons)
"Brought joy to my heart"
Ramy and Hsin-I’s wedding was revolutionary in many ways. It was the first same-sex wedding at Ding Xian—prompting some of the staff to join in the celebraaQ@!Mz=%gKgTW=&sB^kqB4Pz7^ak*BJ1jNZBLW^R1DtSvV6Cz@tions by taking photos.
It also garnered a message of support from President Tsai Ing-wen, who said the marriage “brought joyIJnZs#iD+^wOH4vUb8o4nmu$#4gV(+BgdzU-_2Jp#6yTUufGWt to my heart”.
"I wish the both of you can respect, love, forgive, help each other and be united by love forever” she wrjQYzua#SDTuN#%p5lv4z=PW#x9Rv@QXE1Mj!esFH^f2t7qbCMOote in a letter to the pair.
But more importantly, for Ramy, Hsin-I and their guests, it was a celebration of lbTk+#2aDco@+Ww)NmJfeBl!dTD@$6nrge$b&jFK_qXzSO#7sH7ove.
"For people who aren’t exsFYMVf!CxSdEPkUkKZKu7XKi$dF$r%RiJZ!ypSxchQp2@-j3deposed to the LGBT community don’t always know how much love there can be until they see it” Ramy explained.
“But, when peopl&4YNH+vcs%DmW9xHItbNs&cf_%sV390hvC5bjw9K=dYJp5lN5&e realize there is so much love in the room, it doesn’t matter if you're gay or straight”.