Queerly Beloved

The L-Word

However much you might have rooted for Sharmen, it's kind of hard to imagine The L-Word's Shane (Kate Moennig) settling down. And naturally, she didn't, although unlike Brian and Justin, she waited until Carmen was actually dressed in white and walking down the aisle. Oh, Shane.

UK:

Same-sex marriage may not be legal in the UK as it is in Canada – they opted for the "separate but equal" civil unions cop-out – but there's no question the Brits are ahead of the United States in showing big gay weddings on scripted television.

Emmerdale

Brit soap Emmerdale didn't go halfway with its first gay wedding. Instead, when Paul Lambert (Matthew Bose) and Jonny Foster (Richard Grieve) got hitched, they did it twice.

Maybe that was the consolation prize for there being no kiss at the altar? C'mon, UK! "You may hug the groom" just doesn't cut it.

Doctors

Another UK soap, Doctors, didn't suffer from Emmerdale's gay wedding kiss-phobia. When Dr. Greg (Ben Jones) and Rico (Felix D'Alviella) say their vows, they follow it up with a traditional lip-lock. And even Greg's homophobic father comes around.

Big Screen Same-Sex Weddings

When it comes to the movies, most of those that feature same-sex weddings never make it into widespread distribution. Instead, we see lots and lots of heterosexual weddings where GLBT characters are either essential in bringing the straight couple together, or the wedding reflects in some way on queer issues such as marriage equality.

Still, there have been a few historic big screen depictions of same sex weddings.

Island of Death (1975)

No, you didn't get that year wrong, although being first is pretty much this horror flick's only claim to gay fame. In this cult classic from Greek director Niko Mastorakis, two gay men are brutally murdered after getting married on Mykonos. The killers are equal opportunity sociopaths, though; everyone else who gets offed is straight.

Wet Hot American Summer (2001)

Set in 1981, Wet Hot American Summer is a supremely gay-friendly film, although the gay characters are relegated to a somewhat secondary storyline. The gay couple – Ben (Alias' Bradley Cooper) and McKinley (comedian Michael Ian Black) – in this cult classic is not only the happiest, healthiest, most in love pairing in the film, but they're the only couple we see have sex, and definitely the only couple who get married.

With a nod to a similar scene in Little Darlings (1980), two counselors accidentally stumble on McKinley and Ben's new-agey gay wedding in the woods while spying on some skinny-dipping female campers. Instead of going postal, they buy the happy couple a chaise lounge as a wedding gift.