Two fictional characters, played by hired actors, wed one another on Sunday at the Equality House, which is painted the colors of the rainbow flag and regularly holds fundraisers to support the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community.
The marriage between Gandalf and Dumbldore emerged from a viral news story when Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling tweeted a meme proposing “what if Dumbledore and Gandalf were gay together?” when Ireland passed the country’s Marriage Equality Referendum.
This prompted Westboro then tweeted at the author, threatening to picket a fictional wedding ceremony – and Rowling had the perfect response.
This back-and-forth between the author and Westboro inspired Plating Peace founder Aaron Jackson to bring the wedding to life order to raise money to counter the hateful messages of the Westboro Baptist Church.
Planting Peace is the organisation that founded and sponsors the Equality House.