Hear ye! Hear yea! In honor of the Netflix and Shondaland romance smash hit Bridgerton’s third season, Netflix decided to gift two lucky fans a royal wedding of a lifetime. That’s pretty typical, as far as television network sponcon and promos go. But the two lucky Bridgerton Superfans who won the wedding of their dreams? They’re a Black lesbian couple, which I think we can all agree, decidedly, is not.
Tiffany Rae and Shanti Hinton are high school sweethearts who attended the 2023 Bridgerton Queen’s Ball fan event in New York City, shortly after Netflix reached out and offered them a wedding straight out of the fairy tale books (errrrm, Julia Quinn romance novel/Shondaland imagination factory).
As reported by People, “for their big day, which was planned by London-based luxury wedding and events agency, Alice Wilkes Design, Rae and Hinton tied the knot under a canopy of cascading florals and greenery.” And if you’ve ever watched Bridgerton, you already know the vibes are giving opulence. It’s giving fantasy and luxury.
They were surrounded by their close family and friends, but the entire event was filmed for a Netflix special to premiere on May 21 — and I have to say, even the trailer is left me in a messy pile of heart flutters, cheek-breaking smiles, and is just overly positively swoon worthy.
It appears that as a part of their filmed streaming special, Rae and Hinton got to meet various cast members, including tea with Gold Roshuevel (who’s also a lesbian) and Adjoa Andoh, otherwise known as thee Queen Charlotte and Lady Danbury! I’m sure the whole event had special meaning for Rae and Hinton in particular, who have both felt personal connections to the famed TV series.
Hinton told People that she fell into the show after being touched by the story of Lady Danbury’s nephew, the Duke of Hastings: “His father didn’t accept him because he had a speech impediment. I wasn’t accepted within my own family being a queer person and loving another woman. But that’s who I am.”
For Rae, it’s always been about Queen Charlotte (and honestly, same). She loves that the Queen is “the backbone of her family. A lot of times with women of color, we feel like we have to hold so much down and so much is on our shoulders. One of the lessons I took from the show is the hustle and just to always be pushing and finding positive avenues for yourself and your family.”
If I can be real for a second, normally these kinds of show tie-in’s where fans get are “rewarded” by sharing one of thee most intimate moments of their lives (a wedding) with the entire world in exchange for an exorbitant ceremony is not my personal jam. I’ve watched the occasional wedding show on Bravo out of boredom, sure, but as a lifelong member of Team Love Is a Lie, the genre mostly passes me by.
I want to be honest about that so that you can trust me when I say that I’ll absolutely be watching Tiffany Rae and Shanti Hinton when this special drops, and I hope that their every dream comes true. It is so rare — so rare! — to see Black queer love uplifted and shined upon like this. It’s rare that we are seen as the majesty we are, deserving of every good thing that life has to offer upon us — even TV fan contests! And I’ll never miss an opportunity to celebrate us.
“We felt like royalty,” Rae told People. “Couples out there that are just like us, we see you, we hear you. Love always wins.”
I mean, c’mon!! How can you not root for them??
