Wedding Invitations for Gay & Lesbian Ceremonies

In an increasing number of countries and in a few U. S. states, gay and lesbian couples are gaining the legal right to get married. Along with that right, these couples are also going to start facing the same wedding planning nightmares heterosexual couples have been dealing with for decades, including choosing the appropriate wedding invitations for their event.

Some aspects of the wedding invitations don’t have to be changed at all to accommodate same sex couples. For example, no matter who is getting married, the formality of the ceremony should dictate the appearance of the wedding invitations. That means if you’re having a formal or a semi-formal wedding in a church or similar location, then you should choose very traditional invitations.

Since many churches do not allow same sex marriages and many locations refer to these unions as civil partnerships not marriages, many gay and lesbian couples opt for something less formal in terms of their ceremony, such as outdoor settings. In these cases, couples have more wedding invitation options.

There are wedding invitations available specifically designed for gay and lesbian couples. They may have pictures of two grooms or two brides, for example. While these wedding invitations would be fine choices, you don’t have to limit yourself to just those options. Most wedding invitation styles would work well for either heterosexual or homosexual couples.

One area of difference, however, is usually the wedding invitation wording. Even here though, those changes are not huge. Obviously, you’d want to avoid terms like “husband” and “wife.” They can easily be replaced with “partner.”

In the majority of cases, the couple themselves or their friends will be hosting the ceremony instead of their families. As a result, some traditional wedding invitation etiquette rules don’t apply. The good news is that often makes writing the invitations easier because dealing with divorced, remarried, and separated parents can be a nightmare on invitations.

Also, most gay and lesbian couples opt to refer to their formally recognized relationships as a partnership not a marriage so traditional invitation wording often needs to be changed to reflect this difference. Below are three examples of how invitation wording that would be appropriate:

Elizabeth Smith
And
Jennifer Roseland
Request the Pleasure of Your Company
As They Celebrate Their Union
On the Fourth Day of January
Two Thousand and Eight
At Five O’Clock in the Evening
At Acne Botanical Gardens
5555 Garden Drive
Mount Vernon, Massachusetts

Dwayne Jones and Cliff Biel
Invite You to Celebrate With Them
As They Join in Loving Union
On May 6, 2008
At 3:30 p.m.
Martinsville Country Club
Martinsville, New Hampshire

Andrea & James Patrick
Request the Honor of Your Presence
At the Civil Union Ceremony
Of Jackson Patrick
To
William Winslow
On the 23rd of April, 2008
At the Patrick’s Residence
614 Willow Lane
Honolulu, Hawii

All of the examples above are for ceremonies not held in churches or other religion-associated locations. For couples, opting for a ceremony in a church, the first example would be changed from “Pleasure of Your Company” to “Honor of Your Company.” Also, the third example would be appropriate for any hosts, including parents.

With any wedding invitations, however, the important thing is to pick a style that reflects your personality as a couple and wording that fits the formality of your ceremony.

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