#92 What Straight Couples Can Learn From Gay Weddings

The Big Wedding Planning Podcast

It’s PRIDE month and we’re so stoked to talk more about gay weddings in this episode!

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Big Takeaways

First things first - Congratulations Michelle! She’s an Auntie! Baby Viviana Michelle was born just one day before we recorded this episode. Mama and baby are doing fine and Michelle is thrilled to be an aunt and Godmother.

Some Pride history / facts

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) is currently celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. The Stonewall riots were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. In the United States the last Sunday in June was initially celebrated as “Gay Pride Day,” but the actual day was flexible. In major cities across the nation the “day” soon grew to encompass a month-long series of events.

The SCOTUS ruling: Obergefell v. Hodges, June 26, 2015 - a landmark civil rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples. The ruling requires all fifty states to perform and recognize the marriages of same-sex couples on the same terms and conditions as the marriages of opposite-sex couples, with all the accompanying rights and responsibilities

Here’s some exciting CEREMONY stuff we are seeing as more gay couples plan their weddings...ways to express themselves and their relationship with their loved ones:

Aisles - Gay couples are scrapping the traditional walk down the aisle, for a lot of reasons! So, as wedding planners, it’s a super fun challenge to get creative with the processional. How you design the entire ceremony space depends on if you want an aisle, or two, or a ceremony in the round...do you walk in together? Do you meet in the middle? Are you given away by a loved one? Tons to think about!

A Ceremony Toast - one thing gay couples are doing during the ceremony that is considered a ‘new tradition’ is a toast during the ceremony. Champagne can be passed as guests arrive for the ceremony, or (Christy’s personal favorite) you can have the caterer tray pass champagne down the aisle in the middle of the ceremony. A toast - by the officiant - or a guest (like a reader) is proposed and everyone says cheers. It’s a way to acknowledge the chosen friends and family that support the couple. It’s something you don’t see a lot of during straight weddings and it’s a hit, trust us!

The pronunciation! Pronouns are important - for trans couples, the moment the officiant ends the ceremony with a pronunciation of marriage and an introduction

Links we referenced:

Great Article on the history of PRIDE: https://www.bustle.com/articles/166925-the-origins-of-pride-month-what-you-should-know-about-its-history

Gay Wedding Planning EXPERT: https://gayweddinginstitute.com

Planning Tool via Wedding Wire: http://gayweddings.com

Photographer Steph Grant: http://www.stephgrantphotography.com/blog/

Photographer Tony Valadez: http://tonyvaladez.com

Photographer Cindy and Sharon: http://www.samesexweddingphotographers.com

Our episode with Bernadette Smith (gay wedding expert): http://www.thebigweddingplanningpodcast.com/gay-weddings-with-bernadette-smith

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