FIRST COMES LOVE: Portraits of Enduring LGBTQ Relationships

First Comes Love is a book of photographs and love stories that celebrates the lives and enduring relationships of LGBTQ couples from across the U.S. This is the story of our times! The brainchild of Philadelphia photographer Barbara Proud, the book is just one element of the First Comes Love Project, a traveling exhibition of photographs, love stories and video interviews documenting LGBTQ couples who have been together for 10, 20, 30, 40, and even 50+ years. First Comes Love seeks to change attitudes, open hearts, and propel the marriage equality movement simply by introducing and sharing the love stories of 65 real American long-term same-sex couples. By doing so, Proud hopes to educate those outside of the LGBTQ community, while celebrating those who are a part. "First Comes Love has it right," says supporter Evan Wolfson, President of Freedom to Marry. "It's the faces and stories of real people that open hearts and minds and pave the way to legal and social change." "First Comes Love is more than a book of beautiful photography, it's an essential document," says HRC President, Chad Griffin. "It testifies to a moment in history that all of us made possible and none of us will ever forget-when our community left the closet for good, and equality finally became a mainstream American value."