24 Hour Marriages is an experiential art project and social experiment conducted by ordained marriage commissioner Lex Gray started in 2018. The project is an exploration in radical acceptance, modern requirements/expectations of commitment being incongruent with the institution of marriage, and love's many forms, setups, shapes, feelings, and obstacles. The project has brought together hundreds of humans to date and is currently in its second phase.
After announcing the city of ceremony and popup location clues on Instagram 24 hours in advance of each installation, she accepts couples and groups on a first-come-first-serve basis. She then vibe checks and counsels the committing parties on intention setting and harmonious communication. Contracts are written on the spot; each party contributes their marital stipulations, with the option for contracts to be immortalized on the blockchain. Following all that jibberjabber, she conducts unique impromptu wedding ceremonies witnessed by the public. Each newlywed is given access to a private digital document to record their experience. The marriage and its agreements naturally expire 24 hours from the moment of signing, though many have gone on to be extended indefinitely as agreed upon by the married parties, either as a neverending inside joke or legitimate but illegitimate celebration of love and bondage.
Lex has married strangers, couples, bands, besties, sports teams, corporate departments, first dates, drinking buddies, fiances, enemies, research groups, and chess teams to each other in 27 and counting installations across North America imbedded in community gardens, other people's wedding receptions, album release parties, raves, bachelorette parties, fashion shows, retirement parties, and guerilla popups on rooftops and sidewalks during her annual Couch Day (different art installation series.)
She is especially proud of the tech startup team that learned how to utilize bootstrapped quick scale-up strategy toward loving acceptance of one another in a pivotal pre-IPO moment of frustration despite DevOps and HR entering the union with hatred for one another, the couples that have gone on to get realass extrasuper married (one of these couples has recently birthed an entire sweet human baby,) and the Vancouver girlband that's kept their contract running for 2 years now and it's fucking adorable to see at shows and when they go on annual honeymoon writing retreats. The next phase of the project is being developed as Lex writes her second album.
Please email Lex at hi@lexgray.me to request a 24 Hour Marriage installation at your event or venue. Absolutely no church or immigration stuff will be considered.