Getting married is both a stressful and wonderful experience. However, for some, it may feel like their non-traditional dreams are more difficult to achieve.
For same sex couples, planning a wedding is much the same as planning a heterosexual wedding with just a few extra obstacles to overcome.
Though gay marriage has been legal since July of 2005 not a all Canadians are up to speed. Some still hold traditional religious values which can exclude same sex couples.
Many same sex couples seek services from companies which openly advertise as gay-friendly. There are all kinds of services in London that do so.
All Seasons Weddings is a service which provides officiants to both hetero and homosexual couples. Melissa Taylor, and officiant through All Seasons Weddings says that the most important part of planning a ceremony for a gay wedding is listening,
“Whether a couple is a same sex couple or a heterosexual couple, they have their own vision for their wedding.”
Karen Duby of Guelph Ont. Has been with her partner for nearly 17 years and plans to get married in a small ceremony. Duby agrees with Taylor’s statement about the importance of a couple’s vision when it comes to non-traditional weddings especially with the discomfort that some same sex couples have with being married in a church.
She says that her wedding will be something spiritual but not necessarily performed in a church,
“Both of us would be spiritual in lots of ways, I don’t think that it would be church based. We both love nature, we love water. It would be something in that regard with our close family and friends there with us. I don’t think it would be religious based so to speak.”
Duby also told XFM News, the discussion should be about equal rights in marriage, not whether gay marriage should be accepted.
No matter the genders of the individuals, weddings are the celebration of the legal union between two people who want to spend their lives together.
