It was an awkward moment when Carol and Kesha McKnight raced to the DJ at a party they were invited to by their wedding planner. They were trying to accept the prize promised to the first engaged couple to come to the stage.

“The DJ asked if we were joking. We said no, we’re not playing. The DJ walked away — he wasn’t taking our relationship seriously,” says Carol. “It was very awkward and a bit hurtful.”

To ensure incidents like this don’t happen to other same-sex couples, Carol and Kesha started their own wedding planning business, Euphoria Affairs, that finds gay-friendly vendors for same-sex couples.

“We had issues with finding vendors who were excited about servicing us. And we also felt like when searching for a vendor, we had to come out every time,” Carol adds. “That’s why we focus on vendors who are gay friendly and can appreciate all relationships.”

Married on April 11, 2010, at the Greystone building in Piedmont Park, the couple acknowledges their marriage is not legal in the state of Georgia. But to them, it was important to profess their love to each other in a public setting.

“It’s really more about publicly committing in front of friends and family,” Carol says. “Even though it’s not legal, we still wanted to celebrate it. Of course we want it to be legal, but we didn’t let that stop us.”

The couple met in 2005 and began dating in 2007; in 2010 they decided to tie the knot. After their experiences planning their own wedding, they started Euphoria Affairs to serve heterosexual as well as gay and lesbian couples.

Both hold full-time corporate jobs, but one day hope to make wedding planning their full time career. Working together as a wife-and-wife team is also a blessing and a way they complement each other doing something they love.

“We play off each other really well,” Kesha says. “We’re kind of protective of our clients — we want to make sure everyone involved with their celebration is on the same page and don’t have to deal with some of the obstacles we did.

“Our wedding has brought on so many different levels of blessings for us. We never thought we’d start our own business. But this is something we both love and are dedicated to doing,” Kesha adds.