How To Plan Your Same-Sex Wedding

For mail, all couples are addressed in the same way wherever their orientation: first one and then the other.

• Couples who operate as a social unit are addressed together on the same line: Mr. and Mr. Thomas Whitehead
• For couples who choose to keep their own last names, you can use this format: Mrs. Angela Ownes and Mrs. Juliette Esteves

Mrs or Ms? It’s polite for anyone new to your circle to check if you prefer Ms. or Mrs. rather than assume.

Choice of Officiant

Most couples choose a friend to be their officiant, but we can also introduce you to our recommended officiant once you have chosen a venue. Our venue’s officiant is always gay-friendly and embraces every form of love. They will be happy to meet with you before your wedding date and learn about the type of ceremony you want.

Same-Sex Ceremonies

We love to hear personalized vows and admire anyone courageous enough to write their own. You can adapt traditional vows if you feel they are limiting, or your officiant can guide you towards suitable readings if you want to include your faith in your wedding ceremony.

Suggested gay-friendly readings

Most readings are gender-neutral or can easily be adapted but, to save you searching, here are ten of our absolute favorite readings suitable for same-sex ceremonies.

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Christina Rossetti

"What is the beginning? Love.What the course. Love still.What the goal. The goal is love.On a happy hill.”

“i carry your heart with me"

ee cummings

"i carry your heart with me (i carry it inmy heart) i am never without it (anywherei go you go, my dear; and whatever is doneby only me is your doing, my darling)i fearno fate(for you are my fate, my sweet)i wantno world(for beautiful you are my world, my true)and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meantand whatever a sun will always sing is you"

Amy Tan

“I am like a falling star who has finally found her place next to another in a lovely constellation, where we will sparkle in the heavens forever.”

Maya Angelou

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.”

Wild Awake

Hilary T. Smith

"People are like cities: We all have alleys and gardens and secret rooftops and places where daisies sprout between the sidewalk cracks, but most of the time all we let each other see is a postcard glimpse of a skyline or a polished square. Love lets you find those hidden places in another person, even the ones they didn’t know were there, even the ones they wouldn’t have thought to call beautiful themselves."

The Art of Marriage

Wilferd Arlan Peterson

"Happiness in marriage is not something that just happensA good marriage must be createdIn the art of marriage the little things are the big things.It is never being too old to hold handsIt is remembering to say "I love you" at least once a dayIt is never going to sleep angryIt is at no time taking the other for granted;the courtship should not end with the honeymoon,it should continue through all the years."

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s majority opinion in Hodges v. Obergefell

“No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were. […] The Constitution grants them that right.”

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tennessee Williams

“What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it's curved like a road through mountains.”

Being Loved Deeply

Lao Tzu

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”

Sonnet 116

William Shakespeare

"...Love is not loveWhich alters when it alteration finds,Or bends with the remover to removeO no! it is an ever-fixed markThat looks on tempests and is never shaken;It is the star to every wand'ring bark,Whose worth is unknown, although his height be taken."

Beautiful first dance song ideas

An incredible number of couples pick their first song before they even decide to get married. They carry it in their hearts on a cloud of sentimentality. Maybe it's the first song you heard together, on an album you gave on valentine's day, or a song the matched your heart so perfectly. Here are seven that capture the essence of love for every type of couple.

“Love on Top,”

by Beyoncé

Baby it's you/You're the one I love/You're the one I need/You're the only one I see

“Stay With Me,”

by Sam Smith

Oh, won't you stay with me?/'Cause you're all I need

“Stand By Me”

by Ben E. King

Whenever you're in trouble won't you stand by me /  Oh, stand by me / Woah, just stand now / Oh, stand, stand by me

“In Your Eyes”

by Peter Gabriel

whichever way I go /

I come back to the place you are /

All my instincts, they return

“Perfect Day”

by Lou Reed

Oh, it's such a perfect day / I'm glad I spent it with you / Oh, such a perfect day

“At Last”

by Etta James

At last / My love has come along / My lonely days are over / And life is like a song

“You Are the Best Thing”

by Ray LaMontagne

Hearts are strong, and our hearts are kind /

Well, let me tell you just exactly what's on my mind /

You are the best thing

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Love always deserves to be celebrated and we welcome every couple to Wedgewood Weddings. We're honored to host couples on the most special day of their lives!