What are the chances of finding the love of your life in the tiniest, most crowded bar in New York City on one of the busiest days of the year? For us, they were absolutely perfect!
Allow us to introduce ourselves...we’re Kate and Mare, the co-creators of AbsolutelyOut. Our journey together started back in 2012 at the Cubbyhole, Manhattan’s best-known lesbian bar. It was the last Sunday in June—the day of the annual Pride parade. The sun was shining and the streets were flooded with rainbows and unicorns. Millions of people from all over the tri-state area and beyond flocked into the city to watch or participate in the parade, attend parties, or go to one of the many New York City bars and restaurants to celebrate.
We were both enjoying the day with friends at the Cubbyhole—and apparently everyone else in the West Village had the same idea. There was hardly any room to move around the tiny little bar. People were bumping into each other left and right, drinks were constantly being spilled all over the floor, and if you didn’t secure a firm location in the midst of the celebrations, you were bound to be separated from your friends.
Mare secured a piece of prime real estate and practically cemented her feet into the floor of the corner of the packed, noisy bar. She was clutching two drinks faithfully—a beer in one hand and a margarita in the other. The next thing she knew, she was in the middle of a drink balancing act and a good old-fashioned uncontrollable belly laugh—mouth wide open, teeth showing, and hunched over with hysteria. Out of nowhere, the only empty spot in the bar became available and standing right in front of her appeared Kate. Unsure of what Mare was laughing at, Kate found her laugh to be so contagious and just couldn’t help joining in on the fun.
What was so funny? We have absolutely no clue. What we do know is that we had an instant connection and both knew that our lives had changed at that very moment. We like to think that fate played a role and brought us together. We love to think back about that first moment when we met and tease each other with our only silly versions of how our love story began. Mare will always say that the song “Call Me Maybe” was playing in the bar and Kate bopped on over to her, drawn to the fun that Mare was having all by herself. Kate will laugh and say she swagged on over and smooth-talked Mare.
We’ll never know exactly what was said or who said it. We’ll never know what made us laugh so hard or what our first words to each other actually were. But the one thing we will always agree on is that it was the beginning of our beautiful relationship—the one that began with a laugh and has kept us laughing together ever since.
We both love music, traveling, writing, spending time with our favorite little Yorkie-bichon, Riley, and trying out new things—food, drinks, activities…Whether it’s food, drinks, or activities, we love exploring new things together. We both have a passion for music, traveling, and writing, and we absolutely love hanging out with family and friends. One of our absolute favorite things to do together is spend time with Riley—our adorable Yorkie-Bichon. Our tiny six-pound dog has taught us many of life’s biggest and most important lessons. We’re proud to live our lives by Riley’s Rules!
Our days are filled with love and laughter and since tying the knot in 2015, we’ve been enjoying every moment of our happily ever after. We know how fortunate we are to have one another and to experience life together during a time when we can be proud to be AbsolutelyOut.
