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The Brides of March is a memoir by American writer Beren deMotier.

Published in 2007, The Brides of March, a narrative non-fiction tale of getting married, celebrated, constitutionally banned, and annulled in Oregon, is a brides’ eye view of a “giddy leap through a legal window, straight onto the barbecue pit of public debate.”

Author Beren deMotier tells it like it was Oregon Ballot Measure 36 (2004), and is, as California's Proposition 8 puts same-sex married couples in legal limbo.

Plot summary

The Brides of March is a bride’s eye view of same-sex marriage at a moment’s notice, with a bevy of brides, their coterie of children, donuts, newspaper reporters, screaming protesters, mothers of the brides who never thought they’d see the day, white wedding cake, and a houseful of happy heterosexuals toasting the marriage!

But that was only the beginning as these private declarations of love became public fodder, fueling social commentary, letters to the editor, and the fires of political debate, when all The Brides of March wanted was the opportunity to say, “I do,” in this candid, poignant and frequently funny tale of lesbian moms getting to the church on time in Multnomah County.

Reviews

The Brides of March: Memoir of a Same-Sex marriage has been critically well received. Just Out declared “deMotier delivers a same-sex memoir you could bring home to mother”.^[1]

Awards

• The Gold Medal in the Foreword magazine Book of the Year Awards.^[2]
• Winner, The National Indie Excellence Award in Current Events: Politics/Social.
• The Bronze in the Independent Publisher Book Awards under gay/lesbian.^{[citation needed]}
• Finalist in the 2008 Oregon Book Awards', Sarah Winnemucca Award for Creative Nonfiction^[3]
• Honorary Mention in the 2007 Reader Views Awards in Memoir/Autobiography^{[citation needed]}
• Honorary Mention in the 15th Annual Writers Digest Intl. Self-Published Book Awards, Life Stories^[4]
• 2nd Place in the Pacific Northwest Literary Association's 2006 Literary Contest, Memoir/Non-fiction^{[citation needed]}

Political significance

• Oregon Ballot Measure 36 (2004) is the constitutional amendment that was passed to effectively annul the marriages of the brides of March.
• California Proposition 8 (2008), similarly, amends that state’s constitution in much the same way as Oregon Ballot Measure 36 (2004). This book tells it like it was in Oregon, and is again, in California.
• Gets to the heart of the matter of Same-sex marriage
• Parenting by same-sex couples

References

External links

• deMotier's website
• The Brides of March website