LGBT Wedding Ideas: Celebrating Love with Creativity and Charm

The day has finally come! It's time for you and the love of your life to officially get hitched! We think we can safely say that a celebration this awesome needs to be just a touch more fabulous than some boring old ceremony. These LGBT wedding ideas are sure to add fabulous charm and DIY creativity into your special day for the perfect event!

What LGBT wedding etiquette should be observed in order to plan the perfect ceremony?

Remember, same-sex and transgender weddings are unique to plan, because some traditional rules may not apply. Here are some tips to remember while planning an LGBT wedding when it comes to general etiquette:

• Who walks who down the aisle?

Don't become stressed with fitting your perfect day into a cookie-cutter mold: if both wives or husbands want to walk toward the altar with a parent, then do it! Decide between the both of you if one partner wants to walk the aisle or one wants to wait under the pew. Most event venues will willingly work with you to create an aisle wide enough to fit four people, so the groom and groom or bride and bride, and both fathers can walk down the aisle if you wish! 

• How should the the wedding party be assembled?
  

Don't feel restricted by other peoples expectations. There is no specific number of people or gender that is "required" in your wedding party. If you want groomsmen and bridesmaids have both, if you want all groomsmen or all bridesmaids then do it! This is your wedding and no one else's, so please yourself! Just try to keep the wedding parties of both spouses around the same number so one side of the altar doesn't wildly outnumber the other - this will help with visual appeal during the ceremony and easier photograph sessions after.

• Personalization is key to wedding success
  

Since weddings have a tendency to be too traditional and predictable, customize your ceremony and charm your spouse and wedding guests by writing your own vows! This will ensure your feelings and personal style shine through to create the perfect charming ceremony. 

Creative gay wedding touches

See the complete blog story for examples of these ideas.

1. Create your own signs and tabletop designs by utilizing the adorable "Mr. & Mr.", "Mrs. & Mrs." or "Mr. & Mrs." theme! Using chalkboard paint and a variety of different colored chalk and calligraphy designs is a gorgeous way to decorate your wedding with your new married titles.
2. Do good while you celebrate! If you so choose, setting up a small donation table for the Human Rights Campaign at your reception is a great way to help ensure other LGBT couples also get to enjoy their wedding day. Using the infamous equal symbol on jars or bowls is an easy set-up.
3. Party favor tables for your guests! A bow-tie bar with a variety of multi-colored and patterned bow-ties your guests can wear throughout the reception and take home as a souvenir is perfect for a wedding with two grooms! "I'm With the Bride(s)" pins are a perfect option for a wedding with two brides! Guests get to flaunt these fun items during the after party and keep as gifts when the celebration is over to remember your special day!

Rainbows? Stay or go?

See the complete blog story for examples of these ideas.

The beautiful rainbow "freedom flag" is a symbol synonymous with gay rights and equality, and using this theme in your wedding is certainly a fun option. However, it is important to remember that using the rainbow theme is NOT a necessity or inherently synonymous with an LGBT wedding! Just because you're having a gay, bisexual or transgender wedding does not mean you need to scream it from the rooftops with rainbow everything. If you and your spouse wish to use some elements of the rainbow to celebrate your nuptials, we love these rainbow-inspired ideas:

1. Rainbow Cake: Having a cascade of rainbow flowers or other designs flowing down from the top tier of your white wedding cake to the bottom not only looks amazing, but tastes great too! Another option is to have the inside of your cake rainbow colored! When you cut into the cake together for the ceremonial first bites, the gorgeous multi-colored layers will delight all in attendance!
2. Rainbow Chair Covers or Sashes: Opt for white guest chairs during the ceremony. Tie large bright ribbons of all the colors of the rainbow onto the backs of each chair for a creative (yet classically charming) look. 

These fun and creative ideas for your special day are sure to bring some extra charm into an already amazing event. But these tips are just the beginning: check out ALL our tips and ideas on our original LGBT Wedding Ideas blog, and find even more inspiration for your nuptials by checking out our Wedding Designs pinboard on Pinterest. And be sure to find the perfect event venue for your LGBT wedding with our event venue search. And remember, #LoveisLove!

{PHOTO CREDITS: For individual photo credits, please find original links to these photos on our Wedding Designs pinboard on Pinterest.}

About Snappening

Snappening is an online event planning database service headquartered in Indianapolis. It was born out of real-life need by a real-life consumer doing what we all want to do most--plan an exceptional event to create a lasting memory. Since its 2011 launch, the site has provided more than 250,000 consumers, venues and professional planners with an online service that makes event venue and event planner searches quick and easy, as well as provides highly localized event planning inspiration, tips and tools. Snappening's mission is to be widely recognized as the most comprehensive and complete event planning listing service for all special events and private functions. The site estimates a time savings of four to eight hours by bringing all options together in one well-appointed location. For more information, visit Snappening.com.

About the Author

Crystal Grave is a seasoned business influencer, public speaker, strategic planning expert and avid social media marketing maven. Her 15 years of branding, public relations, marketing and sales experience have afforded her the opportunity to plan hundreds of personal and professional events for anything from a handful of friends to more than 50,000 attendees.

Crystal has an extensive network of professionals in and around event industry and has relied upon this network to create an incomparable online event planning service. Snappening is the result of tireless research and development with professionals in a variety of disciplines along with feedback and suggestion from a variety of consumers, professional planners and venue managers.