Tag: gay weddings

Gender Neutral & Affirming Wedding Terms

Gender inclusive wedding terms

That feeling when both you and your guests feel included at your wedding ceremony? Priceless! Be proactive to ensure this is a reality. Using gender neutral and affirming wedding terms is one step to achieve your goal. Think about the words that you are using and if they carry additional (unwanted or unnecessary) significance. For instance, to do this focus on the relationship, rather than the gender. Words matter Your engagement is a special time of your relationship. As your wedding day approaches, the excitement builds. Naturally, you want to enjoy the process. Especially as you begin a new life […]

Make Sure your Wedding Ceremony Fits Your Circumstances!

How times change! Not so long ago, the idea of living together before marriage was socially unacceptable.  While some couples dared to try it, they dared not do so openly – for the judgment of society could be cruel.  Gay couples also were in jeopardy of social condemnation. In 2014, however, living together before marriage is the rule — the “new normal.”  And gay relationships too are becoming mainstream in the eyes of most Americans.  Often the old words and assumptions underlying the “traditional” wedding ceremony don’t work anymore and need to be updated. The outdated Victorian notions of the “virgin” bride and groom – and […]

The Rainbow Logo

One of the most meaningful wedding ceremonies I have performed as a New Hampshire Justice of the Peace was on Loon Mountain in September, with a panorama of the White Mountains before us. Rather than that priceless vista, however, it was the couple and our special connection that made it memorable. It all started when they came across a picture of me standing in front of a rainbow flag. The two women had wanted to be married for years but were stymied by the laws of their home state, North Carolina. When the US Congress repealed the infamous DOMA, the […]