Chely Wright Country singer Chely Wright married her girlfriend, Lauren Blitzer, on Saturday, with both wearing Jose Dias-designed white wedding gowns. "We had a great time!" she exclaimed on Twitter.
The interfaith ceremony -- Wright is Christian while Blitzer is Jewish -- was attended by 200-plus guests at the home of Blitzer's aunt in Connecticut. Wright told PEOPLE that they opted for a deejay rather than a live group because "bands at weddings make me nervous."
The 'Single White Female' singer, 40, came out in May 2010 and met Blitzer -- a 30-year-old GLBT Civil Rights activist -- just two weeks later. She told E! recently that they want to start a family. "The benefit of being out is I get to have everything that everyone else has," she said.
While openly gay artists are nothing new in other genres, the world of country music is historically more socially conservative. It's believed Wright is the first notable star to reveal his or her homosexuality in the genre.
Career-wise, the move to be open about her sexuality may have backfired. She timed her announcement to the release of "Lifted Off the Ground," her first release in five years. The album came out May 4, 2010, and generated first-week sales of 3,000 units in the U.S. (good enough for No. 200 on the Billboard 200 and No. 32 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart) and has sold a total of 21,000 units in the U.S. to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
In January, Wright admitted fans may have reacted in a negative way to her news. "It didn't help my career," she admitted in a chat on Auto Straddle in January. She said coming out even led to death threats.
"My life has been threatened," she said. "I get nasty letters every day, 'I'm through with you Chely Wright, you're going to hell.' ... In coming out I had a feeling that it would diminish my wage earning, and that feeling was correct. And, I am fine with that."
Country singer Chely Wright married her girlfriend, Lauren Blitzer, on Saturday, with both wearing Jose Dias-designed white wedding gowns. "We had a great time!" she exclaimed on Twitter.
The interfaith ceremony -- Wright is Christian while Blitzer is Jewish -- was attended by 200-plus guests at the home of Blitzer's aunt in Connecticut. Wright told PEOPLE that they opted for a deejay rather than a live group because "bands at weddings make me nervous."
The 'Single White Female' singer, 40, came out in May 2010 and met Blitzer -- a 30-year-old GLBT Civil Rights activist -- just two weeks later. She told E! recently that they want to start a family. "The benefit of being out is I get to have everything that everyone else has," she said.
While openly gay artists are nothing new in other genres, the world of country music is historically more socially conservative. It's believed Wright is the first notable star to reveal his or her homosexuality in the genre.
Career-wise, the move to be open about her sexuality may have backfired. She timed her announcement to the release of "Lifted Off the Ground," her first release in five years. The album came out May 4, 2010, and generated first-week sales of 3,000 units in the U.S. (good enough for No. 200 on the Billboard 200 and No. 32 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart) and has sold a total of 21,000 units in the U.S. to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
In January, Wright admitted fans may have reacted in a negative way to her news. "It didn't help my career," she admitted in a chat on Auto Straddle in January. She said coming out even led to death threats.
"My life has been threatened," she said. "I get nasty letters every day, 'I'm through with you Chely Wright, you're going to hell.' ... In coming out I had a feeling that it would diminish my wage earning, and that feeling was correct. And, I am fine with that."
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