Andy Musacchio and George Colantuono Jr. have always loved the theater, so it only made sense that their commitment ceremony would have all the flair and liveliness of a Broadway production.
The two men could have had a wedding in a state or country where gay marriage is legal, but decided to have a commitment ceremony on Long Island instead to make a point.
"We're New Yorkers," Musacchio said. "We were born and raised here. We wanted to take a stand and say, 'Hey. Let us be the same as everybody else.'"
They had their special day Nov. 24 at Flowerfield, an estate with orchards, gardens and fountains in St. James, where Musacchio, 34, a Lake Ronkonkoma native, has overseen many weddings in his career as a maître d'.
Festivities began with a hospitality welcome including a harpist, then a half-hour ceremony at the reception hall, where programs fashioned like Playbills were handed out to guests. To supplement their vows, Musacchio sang "Someone Like You" from the Broadway play "Jekyll and Hyde" to Colantuono, a Port Jefferson native, who shed tears listening. A classy, elegant cocktail hour followed.
For the reception, the couple chose a "Phantom of the Opera" theme and sported custom-made opera coats.
Members of the bridal party covered their faces with masks as the couple entered the hall. Then, to the tune of "Let's Hear It for the Boys," Musacchio and Colantuono joined their 136 guests for the festivities. Instead of walking under an arc of bouquets held by the bridal party, they passed under masks.
The two became serious five years ago soon after meeting through a theater production. Musacchio was co-producing a play, and his ex-boyfriend, also a co-producer, chose Colantuono as one of the leading characters. The pair hit it off at a Halloween party and decided to go on a date. In December 2005, the couple decided to have a commitment ceremony "to
show the world" they loved each other, Colantuono said.
The couple chose a bright, multicolored, lopsided cake, the Disney's Mad Hatter, from Audrey's Fine Baked Goods in West Sayville.
Each table had a candelabra, with three different arrangements of the same flowers sprinkled throughout the room, which was designed by gay designer Lovin' Oven. When Musacchio initially saw the arrangements, he declared: "It's not gay enough." So the florist added more red feathers and beadwork.
The couple and guests partied to the band Body Heat, Broadway tunes and '80s music. Still, there were surprises. "We wanted nothing traditional," said Colantuono, 27, a salesman at a jewelry store.
Their large, untraditional wedding party -- four women, eight men, their Maltese dog as the ring bearer and Colantuono's niece as the flower girl -- confused the photographer a bit, Colantuono said. "He'd say, 'I need the groom's mother,' and two mothers would show up."
The ice sculpture at the cocktail hour also wasn't traditional: a man's torso. "It was a big hit," Colantuono said.
