Las Vegas Valley couple was inspired to take the leap

Less than a year after meeting at the library, DeMarkest, 36, and Giles Kelly-Brooks, 39, of Las Vegas, wed on Sept. 17 in a small ceremony in Sunset Park.

The legalization of same-sex marriage one year ago has enabled more couples to build a foundation for the future.

"We've thought about adoption, fostering, the idea of that becoming a possibility and becoming a family, basically," said DeMarkest. "We've talked about home ownership in the near future."

As a couple who took the leap, they are part of a small but growing group of same-sex couples in Nevada who married in the last 12 months.

"I think it's still new," DeMarkest said. "I've known many couples who have lived together for many years are still apprehensive about the marriage part."

He said he had a wow moment when he learned state Sen. Kelvin Atkinson and his husband Woody (Sherwood Howard) were the first same-sex couple to wed in Clark County.

"Them doing that was kind of momentum for me as far as knowing someone who took that next step and was married," he said.

— Contact Adelaide Chen at achen@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.