You may now kiss each other
Every once in a while, a couple comes up with a wedding alternative I’ve just never thought of before. Lo and behold, Dagny and Charlie came up with this super simple twist to a traditional ceremony script:
“It was also important to me that our first kiss as a married couple was something that both of us entered into. Traditionally, people say, ‘You may now kiss the bride.’ We opted instead for, ‘You may now kiss each other.’ For many, it seemed like a silly, small thing, but for me it was a big deal.”
The rise of gender-neutral wedding wording like Mx, Nearlyweds, and Bachelorex parties
Weddings aren’t a strictly gendered thing, as all of us reading Offbeat Bride are like aware of… but many of the words around weddings and marriage are very gendered.
Even if you’re having a completely gender-neutral wedding, it’s really hard to talk about it without using gendered verbiage. But I’ve tried to find some ways around that..
“Who’s the ‘groom’ in your lesbian wedding?” Gender stereotypes and assumptions with gay weddings
“So, who’s the guy in your relationship?” This question (or versions of it) is one of the more common questions posed to lesbian couples and the most frustrating. The reverse is true of male couples. While most people have posed this question with absolutely no malice or agenda, people in same-sex relationships (including myself) can get kind of huffy about it. That is not always helpful, so lets talk about that question.
Who cares who leads? Non-gendered first dance ideas for all
My brother-in-law — who has never danced himself — once told me that it is only natural in dancing that the man leads and the woman follows. Having taught many partner dance classes, from Swing to French Folk, I can tell you that that is completely and utterly untrue. Of course there is nothing wrong with the “man leads, woman follows shuffle”-type first dance, but not every wedding involves one man and one woman. And even for those who do, there are many options beyond the traditional first dance…