Brighten Your Day

When 2 gay dads from Florida get married they register for the most selfless thing of all, their 4 children's future education.

When Juan Luque and Patrick Duffy fell in love in 2008, marriage and family both seemed like distant dreams. Without the legal right to marry in their home state of Florida, first came love and then the baby carriage.

With IVF and the help of a surrogate, Juan and Patrick welcomed their son Lorenzo in December of 2011. In April of 2013, their brood doubled in size when triplets Lily, Liam and Leo were born - again via surrogacy. Since then, there hasn't been a dull moment for the two dads, who document their adventures on their Facebook page 2 Dads + 4 Kids.

Longtime activists in the fight for gay marriage in their home state of Florida, Juan and Patrick were finally able to wed when Florida became the 36th state to legalize gay marriage in January 2015. They added special touches to their day with handmade floral arrangements, having their children as the wedding party, and a food truck for bites throughout the night.

Much like with their wedding, Juan and Patrick had unique ideas about their wedding registry. They were lucky enough to already own a fully-furnished home, so they chose to focus on the most important thing to them - their children's education. "After six years, four kids, and one dog, we felt so blessed already. The two main things we wanted were to provide for our children's future education, and to donate to the non-profit Equality Florida Action."

The couple registered on Zola.com so that they could create a custom fund where guests could contribute cash towards their children's education. Juan explained: "We wanted our registry to feel very personal. Zola allowed us to do this, and it also looked great. Being a designer, that was important for me."

Married on April 15, 2014, the dads are just getting started on this grand adventure together. "Being married gives us peace of mind and a feeling of security that we didn't have before. We know for our children it is important that we are legally married and recognized as a legal family."