While some religious venues will not hold same-sex marriages, gay weddings have been legal in the UK since 2014, so most other wedding venues will be happy to accommodate your big day – ourselves at Delamere Manor certainly included.
Preparing a same-sex wedding is much the same as preparing any other wedding, although you may already have entered into a prior civil partnership that you wish to now convert into a marriage. This involves the signing of a legal declaration, which is carried out at a register office, and costs a total of £49 for the conversation and the marriage certificate. If you wish to have a ceremony, you will need to pay an extra £27 for an appointment. These costs are in addition to the standard wedding expenses.
For the big day itself, there are a number of things to consider. Traditional gender-specific roles, which ordinarily are assigned to either the bride or the groom, are no longer relevant, or they can be adapted to suit you as a couple.
Don’t feel obliged to have a best man or a maid of honour. You can just choose your closest friends or family members to make up your honour attendants. You may opt to have many, or none at all. It really is up to you.
When it comes to walking down the aisle, one of you may prefer to take on the role usually assigned to the groom of waiting by the altar, while your partner walks down the aisle. Perhaps you would prefer to both walk down the aisle together. If you’re both female, you could walk down two separate aisles if the venue layout accommodates this, each with your father (or significant male family member) to give you away.
Everything from the wording on the invitations, to who pays for the wedding, to the official pronouncement can be changed to be less conventional and more in keeping with your personal preferences. There may be some compromises to be made, so make sure to discuss everything thoroughly with each other and with your families. It might be more suitable to write your own vows rather than just opting for more standardised wording.
Some couples may wish to celebrate their wedding with a rainbow-themed wedding cake, decorations, and table flowers. There are many options to choose from, and so many ways to make your same-sex wedding beautiful and special.
