Real Wedding: Derek & Moudi

January 19, 2016

Thousands joined Derek and Moudi for a joyous day infused with the couple’s passion for food, adventure and community.

Derek Kitchen and Moudi Sbeity were already well-known from their farmer’s market presence selling Laziz Mediterranean spreads, but the power couple became heroes in the LBGT and civil-rights community for the landmark court case Kitchen v. Herbert, bringing marriage equality to Utah and the 10th circuit states, helping pave the way for the nation.

Then, Kitchen was elected to the Salt Lake City Council. But it all started when they met, fell in love and got engaged like any other couple. After months of online chatting, the men met in 2009 in Logan. “We spent the weekend visiting coffee shops, eating out and studying at the university library,” says Sbeity. “There was an energy of connectedness, understanding and attraction.”

The couple had much to celebrate at the Gallivan Center. After six years of cooking, traveling, exploring, sharing a home, starting and running a business and suing the state of Utah, Kitchen and Sbeity married in a ceremony surrounded by hundreds of their friends, family and supporters. “It’s this love for risk and adventure that builds us up everyday,” Sbeity says.