From the moment it began, Susanna Raphael Welbourne and Ricki Mason's wedding at the Stables in Georgetown was, as their invitation promised, an "extravaganza of eleganza." The brick building, rumored to have the oldest standing wall in Georgetown, was bedazzled with plastic clowns, ceramic cats, and balloons of all sizes. A silver fountain poured ice water, and multicolored miniature cupcakes were stacked in pyramids. All the guests had decorated themselves for the event just as impressively—silk and rhinestones abounded. I experienced intense suit envy at least three times. One drag queen wore a glorious three-foot-tall hat shaped like two diamond rings.

The glamour was to be expected—Susanna and Ricki are performers who you may know by their stage names, Kitten LaRue and Lou Henry Hoover. The brides emerged from a secret room in matching cream-and-teal leopard print, accompanied by their beaming parents. Bridespeople in gold lamé carried Susanna's enormous tulle train like a floating cloud of fabulousness. The ceremony was officiated by performer Waxie Moon, who announced he was "Reverend Moon" for the evening. When the couple kissed, a confetti cannon showered the assembly with white crepe paper, and everyone cried their mascara off.

Jinkx Monsoon sang "Origin of Love" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch, then everyone sang "It's Only a Paper Moon"—to sing the old love song with the couple's friends and family was a celebration not just of their relationship, but of one of the best things about being human. A bubble machine accompanied the migration of the guests into the courtyard to play in a horse-shaped bouncy castle (fittingly, for the Stables). The gleeful whacking of several piñatas yielded plastic jewel rings, condoms, and airplane bottles of blue raspberry vodka. Then the newlyweds' loved ones danced with them in a cloud of bubbles as the stars came out. I stood in the dark parking lot for a moment before I left, listening to the sounds of laughter and Harry Belafonte, and I thought of how sweet life can be, and how I'd just met two people who know how to enjoy it to the very fullest.