I love this this shot so much! It’s not just because there are sparkly lights and a gleaming driveway into one of Vancouver’s sexiest hotels, but because of what we were feeling before and after the shot.
First, I’d like to point out how amazing it is to see out and proud couples in their early 20’s, with no fear of what other people think, hand locked, in love and in no way fearful of what others may think or do in public when they see them.
Obviously, it’s pretty normal to be gay in Vancouver so we don’t feel the need hide our love when we’re out in public now. That wasn’t always the case for me and Sam in our 20’s.
Let’s face it, even Canada had more haters 20 years ago. It can be hard to shake off the pain if you’ve ever been verbally bashed or judged before so it can stick in the back of your mind and understandably use caution.
Luckily for both of us, minimal damage.
We turned out to be confident guys and hate wouldn’t stand a chance with us. With that said, we are somewhat private. We don’t normally stand in front of a gorgeous hotel and show heaping amounts of affection in front of a photographer and a few onlookers in front of a gorgeous hotel, so our hearts were racing a little bit!
Not that this was full make out session, but what if someone shouted insults or even felt the need to throw something at us, like an empty beer bottle?
As crazy as that sounds, yes, I thought of every horrible thing that could happen, trash being thrown included, but do you know what? Those thoughts were short lived because who cares. I’m kissing my soon to be husband who I’m so proud of and that moment was about me and him.
As it turns out, there were a pair of eyes watching us and not the friendly kind. A security guard came over and told us “no pictures”, with a nasty frown on his face.
Why not? Was Justin Trudeau behind me? Did the Clinton’s just arrive? I wondered, since when are you not allowed to take pictures in front of hotel? I could tell by the way he spoke to us that there wasn’t a whole lot of acceptance there, which surprised me.
We put ourselves out there and I suppose that can invite hate at times, just like social media, but it shouldn’t. It made me want to grab Sam and start kissing him, which I did. We got one more shot and left. It was only afterwards that I thought to myself… was this really a policy about pictures or was it what we were doing that offended one person in a uniform.
Would a world class hotel chain really not want pictures of their beautiful driveway with a happy gay couple to be seen?
We fully intend to support our economy post-COVID19. With a wedding coming up it’s outfits, wedding watches, food, flowers, you name it. This includes booking a hotel in Vancouver for the wedding night and for family and friends to stay.
Would you trust this hotel as welcoming and accepting if you experienced this and book them, or would you look to another property, especially considering wedding day?
