Destination DC

WorldPride DC 2025 marked 10 years of marriage equality in the United States and 50 years of Pride celebrations in Washington, DC. To celebrate the event and showcase the city’s commitment to inclusivity, we coordinated a collaboration between Destination DC and Them magazine to host the wedding of the decade during WorldPride. Officiated by Sasha Colby – winner of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” – the nuptials between Barry Hoy and Teraj Allen featured remarks from Them’s editor in chief and a performance from Colby.

We crafted timely and relevant messaging for travelers who were already planning to attend WorldPride, capturing an already highly engaged audience who values authentic representation and seeks destinations that celebrate diversity. Creative paid media content highlighting Washington, DC’s inclusive venues, vibrant neighborhoods and welcoming spirit ran across paid social, display ads and digital video, and through custom content. Our goals were ambitious: 120 attendees, 5.6 million impressions and 3 million engagements from paid media. 

The cobranded wedding drew 160 attendees, exceeding our target by 33%, creating a highly visible, celebratory moment that showcased DC’s inclusive spirit. Our paid media campaign generated 9.5 million impressions and 3.2 million engagements, surpassing industry benchmarks by 5.4%. A long-form video of Barry and Teraj on YouTube, along with edited versions on Stories and Reels, drove 3.4 million impressions, 2.8 million engagements and an engagement rate of 81%. A dark Meta post promotion drove 2.1 million video views and a viewer completion rate of 80%, and our YouTube promotion produced a 95% viewer completion rate and 0.10% click-through rate – proving that DC is a place where every love story belongs.