The Wedding of Bianca and Reese

Today was the start of the much anticipated and heavily promoted wedding of Bianca and Reese on ALL MY CHILDREN. The event is an historic moment for daytime television as the first wedding between two major gay characters ever.

I watched the show today with two sets of eyes, one judging how such a monumental event would be portrayed, and the other just appreciating the fact that this was happening at all and how far we've come.

In terms of wanting the first big gay wedding to be romantic and sappy and perfect, it was only mildly successful. Eden Riegel and Tamara Braun are both terrific and have made the love story of Bianca and Reese work by their sheer powerhouse acting ability. I absolutely detest Zach's involvement with them as their sperm donor and as a shoulder to cry on for Reese. The fact that Zach and Reese shared a steamy kiss the night before tainted today's events somewhat. But again, the magic of Braun and Riegel made up for that.

The scenes featuring the ladies with Erica were wonderful to watch. We had Erica's hangover cure and apology to Reese, and the touching moment where they revealed they were staying in Pine Valley.

But what took away the most from today's historic wedding was the other things going on at the same time. As a soap episode, it was very entertaining, but as someone who wanted that perfect wedding, it was a bit overdone.

Bianca and Reese walking into the chapel was very special to watch. I did not like how most of Bianca's vows were recited while we were seeing other scenes including Annie holding a gun on Ryan and Kendall driving like a maniac on her way to nearing running over Greenlee (in a wedding dress and leather jacket riding a motorcycle).

The show ended with Greenlee swerving and driving off the road as Bianca finished her vows. It was exciting for sure, but I would have been much happier had we continued to see Bianca and Reese the entire time. Sometimes a wedding can just be about the couple getting married versus everyone else. It was promoted as a huge historic event and I believe the show could have done a better job in honoring the importance of it.

Having said that, there's no denying what a significant happening this was. Seeing these two woman come together and declare their love for each other in front of family and friends was a powerful visual, not just for me as a gay person, but for many fans who may or may not even know or realize they know any gay people. For all the minor gripes I have had about Zach's involvement or the fact that we didn't see Bianca and Reese fall in love, there's no denying history was being made today.

Was it perfect? No. But as I've often said about AS THE WORLD TURNS during the Luke and Noah story, ALL MY CHILDREN deserves kudos for telling this story at all. Representations of gay characters in all forms only helps break down the walls for future characters and stories. There always has to be a first and today's wedding was just that. Congratulations to everyone involved. And a special thanks to Eden Riegel and Tamara Braun for representing these characters in numerous interviews with sensitivity, dignity and class.