Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and singer Ciara, changed the location of their wedding due to a discriminatory law.
“I did the whole thing — three times,” Celebrity wedding planner Mindy Weiss told The Knot. “They were first getting married in North Carolina, but they called it off due to the transgender bathroom laws.”
The NBA also announced that it was moving All-Star weekend out of Charlotte and instead to New Orleans because of the law.
North Carolina’s House Bill 2, mandates transgender people use public restrooms corresponding to the sex listed on their birth certificates. It also omits LGBT people from North Carolina’s anti-discrimination protections.
Ciara and Russell decided they didn’t want their nuptials in a discriminatory state and decided to go abroad to the City of Light, but there was an issue there too. “They were gonna go to Paris and it ended up being [Couture] Fashion Week,” says Weiss. “And it was really difficult.”
Ultimately, the stars settled on a venue in a neighboring country. “We ended up in London,” recalls Weiss. “They wanted to be away. And we found a castle that was an hour out of Liverpool and they had about 110 guests.”
In the end, the castle in London ended up being a great choice. Their wedding pictures looked beautiful.
