About gay weddings

Gay wedding photo 7

A few things about gay weddings, same sex weddings or civil partnership ceremonies that you might not be aware of, that have been missing from your life until now…

Without wishing to sound like an hysterical pro-gay-wedding-activist*, I have to say that the atmosphere at a gay wedding is pretty much the same as it is at a conventional opposite-sex wedding. *Never get hysterical and never be too active, it isn’t good for you.
The`bride and groom’ stand in front of an official and make their vows, or promises to each other in the same way that they would at an opposite-sex wedding. In my experience – as a wedding photographer, not as a gay bride or groom – the vows are not the same vows that are made at an opposite-sex wedding.

But it might be different in some countries in mainland Europe, where what might be called `authentic’ gay weddings are performed – weddings which I understand are identical in every way to opposite-sex weddings.

How the gay bride is given away

The bride can be `given away’ in the same way that a biologically-female bride is given away at an opposite-sex wedding. Her father or other relative can escort her down the aisle to the place where the actual wedding ceremony is to be conducted.

How the gay bride and groom react after their `wedding’

The couple invariably react with joy, and really, this is understandable. The fact is, most gay people don’t like illicit relationships, they prefer long-term relationships and they like these relationships to be `sealed’ in some way. So naturally – they are human, after all – when it has been sealed in some way they react with joy.
They might kiss after their `wedding’ but at the weddings where I have been the wedding photographer it isn’t usual to do so. This might be in case this offends some of the guests, especially the older guests, who are probably pretty bemused by the whole thing.

Flower girls and page boys at gay wedding

There’s often a pageboy and bridesmaid at same-sex weddings, and they usually look as cute as they do at opposite-sex weddings.
I have no idea what is said to them before the gay wedding – whether someone explains gay relationships to them. This is just my surmising, but the physical aspects of the gay relationship is probably not explained to them, only the emotional aspects are explained to them.