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gofree

Founder of clothesFREE

From: Hong Kong

Registered: 2006-07-18

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Bride and groom bare it all

On a sunny, August day in the Berkshire Mountains, 600 guests stood waiting to witness Pamela and Lee tie the knot. But as the bride walked down the aisle, no one marveled at her wedding dress. She wasn't wearing one. And Lee, her husband shortly to be, wore little more than a top hat and bowtie. As for the audience, some people wore hats and others had shawls around their shoulders, but most did not dress at all that morning. Only 12 were fully clothed. "We worked for many months to craft a ceremony that was very expressive of our thoughts and our beliefs," Pamela said. Having a nude wedding was "so expressive of who we are," she said. "It's so natural, it's so unpretentious." Pamela and Lee, both in their 50s, are part of a growing number of nudists opting to have nude weddings to complement their lifestyle. As nudists, they eat, sleep, exercise, and sometimes work in the raw. For them, nude weddings are simply a natural extension of their everyday life.

Mark and Cindy, who had a nude wedding in San Antonio in November 2001, put their wedding together in just six weeks and sent out e-mails rather than formal wedding invitations. Though Mark, 36, regrets that their families did not attend because they felt uncomfortable, having a wedding that reflected their nudist lifestyle was more important. "My mom is just too old fashioned to understand," he said. Nude weddings also remind couples that their lifestyle is about love and acceptance above all else. For Lee, "nudism is a great equalizer. You are the same as everyone. You're not wearing anything that would separate you from anyone else." Nudists around the country balk at the mistaken belief that nudist communities are all about sex. To them, nudists are very accepting and close. "It's not a sexual thing, it's a spiritual thing," said Rev. Shirley Morgan, a minister in Manchester, Michigan who has officiated at nearly 40 nude weddings. For each couple, the decision to have a nude wedding came naturally. "We got married this way because of our belief in having a healthy, honest, transparent lifestyle," said Pamela. According to Lee, their wedding was exactly the way it should be. "God keeps sending us naked people, but we keep sending him people that are all dressed," he lamented. "One of these days we'll get it."

2008.02.20