If you need some inspiring lesbian wedding ceremony ideas, you’re going to love my list!
From your journey down the aisle through your joyous first stroll as a married couple, I’ve got you covered!
Read on for some of the most beautiful and unique ideas for every last aspect of your ceremony.
Inspirational Lesbian Wedding Ceremony Ideas
The wedding ceremony can be one of the most beautifully unique parts of your big day!
I love how modern couples are encouraged to embrace that creative freedom – and that couldn’t be more true than for lesbian wedding ceremonies.
Other than needing to include lesbian wedding vows, nothing else is set in stone.
With such a blank slate, the range of truly unique queer wedding ceremony ideas can be overwhelming!
Who enters first? What will the ceremony space look like? What to say, who says what, when to say it… It can start to do your head in!
Never fear though!
I’ve not only lined up some awesome lesbian wedding ceremony ideas, but I’ve broken them down into four chunks to help you plan the wedding of your dreams.
Our “how to plan a lesbian wedding ceremony” tips include:
- The perfect lesbian wedding ceremony entrance
- Beautiful wedding decor you and your guests will love
- The actual ceremony & some unique wedding ceremony script ideas
- Your exit as a newly wed couple.
From start to finish, we’ve got you covered for your Mrs and Mrs wedding, so let’s dig in!
Related: Bride Proves You Really Can Organize a Tasteful Lesbian Wedding for Under $6K
In The Beginning: Ceremony Entrance Ideas
Let’s start where every wedding day truly begins, that magical moment when you step foot into the aisle. I think of it as kind of like starting the very first step to your whole new life. Here are some ideas to make it even more magical, whether your big day is in a chapel, a ballroom, or even a backyard!
1. No Sides, Only Brides!
We love this adorable addition to the classic reminder for friends and family to not bother with sides since a ceremony is all about love and coming together!
It’s definitely one of my favorite Mrs. & Mrs. wedding ideas!
2. Go Full Circle
Why not do away with an aisle all together, and circle up?
It beautifully reflects the support and connection everyone watching will no doubt have with you as a couple,
Plus it makes entering from two sides at once a total possibility, doing away with any need for a “who walks in first” conversation that you’ll have to have with traditional wedding seating.
3. Come Together
One of the biggest questions about gay weddings is always “who walks down the aisle first?” While the idea above eliminates that, if you’re still keen on an aisle entrance, I’m so down for the idea of the brides entering together.
You’ll need to make sure you’ve got space, especially if you’re accommodating huge wedding dresses, but it’s always moving to see the upcoming unity shown by arriving arm in arm.
4. Take A Colorful Rain Check
It’s important to have a Plan B for your ceremony in case of rain!
If that Plan B can be an opportunity to embrace more pride like in the shape of these gorgeous umbrellas, then it’ll be impossible to rain on your parade. They’re a great way to incorporate a little bit of the rainbow into your special day without going overboard.
Even if it doesn’t rain, I love the idea of doing a photoshoot with your bridal party, or maybe even just you and your bridesmaids, all holding these cute umbrellas.
Now that we have your grand entrance planned, let’s get that amazing venue decorated just right!
All Things Decor: Ceremony Space Ideas
Whether you’re planning a totally white wedding or a palette filled with rainbow colors, these decoration ideas will help make your special moment even more special.
5. A Glamorous Mrs and Mrs
Looking to include a reference to the title you’ll both soon have? I seriously admire this golden, glittering decoration for how proudly it claims the label. It could definitely be a perfect addition to any lesbian wedding ceremony signing table or next to your wedding cake at the reception.
6. This Ceremony Arch That Really Pops
I couldn’t look past this gorgeous couple and the special lift the balloons gave to their ceremony arch.
Your bride-to-be surely makes you feel like you’re walking on air, so it only makes sense that the archway is too!
If you’re having a traditional ceremony in a church that doesn’t allow arches, consider using it for the entranceway of your reception.
7. Have A Heart
For a softer take on incorporating a “Mrs and Mrs” at your wedding, this idea of having it be a part of your wedding rings display has a lot of heart.
The contrast between the white wood and black inscription really makes the words stand out (and still works with this couple’s beach theme).
The best part is that, unless you’re the ring barer, it’ll be a sweet little secret just for the two of you to see those words as you prepare to exchange rings.
8. Balance Out The Bouquet
If you’re not 100% sure on your plan for the bouquet, we love the idea this couple had to pair one bride’s bouquet with the other’s flower crown.
It keeps things simple (and keeps costs down, bouquets are expensive y’all!) but still ties everything together and adds a fresh touch for both brides.
Really good florists can very easily put something like this together, so if you haven’t settled on one yet, make sure you bring it up when you’re interviewing.
9. Or Just Go Full Flower Power!
Nothing wrong with going full-out, and the degree of detail that these brides have put into their flower coordination is absolutely stunning!
Not only do both their bouquets tie in with the garland atop their ceremony hexagon (now there’s a phrase you don’t say everyday!), but the leaf pattern totally compliments the lace-work on their dresses too!
The Nitty-Gritty: Ceremony Script/Reading Ideas
Okay, so we’ve covered that first look as you walk down the aisle and the really grand decor. Now, let’s talk about the smaller details that tie everything together and make your big day match your dreams.
10. Remembering Love Wins
Unless you’re opting for a religious affair, the flow of your ceremony is entirely up to you. Even then, some religious officiants will give you a bit more wiggle room with the ceremony itself.
One of my favorite ways to personalize your same-sex wedding is by writing your own vows. If you’re looking for gender-neutral wedding vows, why not include a snippet from the day when love won in the United States and marriage equality finally became a possibility for everyone?
My personal favorite section:
“Marriage embodies a love that may endure past death. It would misunderstand these women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves.”
11. Subtle and Sweet
For something a little more reflective of love itself, we think this reading could slip seamlessly into any lesbian wedding ceremony.
It so beautifully reminds us of the power love has to make us the best versions of ourselves and is definitely one of our favorite lesbian wedding ceremony readings.
“You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself.” Does anyone have tissues??
12. A Promise Is A Promise
If you’re stuck for vow ideas for your same-sex ceremony, I love this passage that does away with the old “in sickness and in health”, and has the brides making promises that are much more in line with a deep, committed love.
We particularly love the promise of always letting your partner see through the window of your world into your fears, dreams and feelings.
Isn’t this such an inspirational part of a lesbian wedding ceremony script?
13. Tell Your Story
When all is said and done, your ceremony is your time for your relationship, so aside from the vows and readings, why not tell the story of how you met and the affect it had like the gorgeous couple in this video?
It makes everything that little bit more special when you take a moment to remember where you’ve come and how you’ve both come to be where you are.
Plus it’s gives your friends and family the rare opportunity to share in the joy of the bond you’ve created.
14. Hold Fast
We mostly follow the sage advice of Beyoncé during wedding ceremonies (put a ring on it), but if you’re looking for something different that’s just as symbolic of devotion and connection, a hand fasting ceremony can be a wonderful addition .
It’s also another chance to add something personal, like this couple tying in their woodland theme with the cord’s earthy tones and natural touches.
So Long, Farewell: Ceremony Exit Ideas
Congratulations, you’ve tied the knot, devoured the cake, and danced the night away with your wedding party! Now, last, but not least, let’s talk about how to make your exit special! After all, it’s the last chance your photographer has to take some truly epic pictures!
15. Out With A Bang
We don’t know what we love more with this happy couple: the simple and easy phrasing of “you may kiss your wife” or the dazzling burst of golden streamers that go off for the exit.
Watch from 5:50 to see what we mean and get inspired!
16. Or Out With A Bomb!
Whether for your entrance or exit, take the celebrations up a notch and get explosive… Literally! There’s a reason this idea trends like crazy on Pinterest, it’s visually stunning and perfect for your wedding photography.
Color is such a fantastic way to highlight the passion and joy of a lesbian wedding, and this couple has got us feeling the love and energy with their colored smoke bombs – take that rice and confetti!
What Poetry to Read at a Lesbian Wedding
If you and your partner love to read and want to include something special and meaningful at your wedding, you can get the help of the old favorites. You can check out these traditional wedding poems written by poets to their same sex beloveds.
Here are a few examples:
1- Song of the Open Road by Walt Whitman
“Camerado, I give you my hand!
I give you my love more precious than money,
I give you myself before preaching or law;
Will you give me yourself? will you come travel with me?
Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?”
2- O Me! O Life! by Walt Whitman
“Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring,
Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish,
Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?)
Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d,
Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me,
Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,
The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?
Answer.
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.”
3- Voyages by Hart Crane
“Whose counted smile of hours and days, suppose
I know as spectrum of the sea and pledge
Vastly now parting gulf on gulf of wings
Whose circles bridge, I know, (from palms to the severe
Chilled albatross’s white immutability)
No stream of greater love advancing now
Than, singing, this mortality alone
Through clay aflow immortally to you.
All fragrance irrefragably, and claim
Madly meeting logically in this hour
And region that is ours to wreathe again,
Portending eyes and lips and making told
The chancel port and portion of our June—
Shall they not stem and close in our own steps
Bright staves of flowers and quills today as I
Must first be lost in fatal tides to tell?
In signature of the incarnate word
The harbor shoulders to resign in mingling
Mutual blood, transpiring as foreknown
And widening noon within your breast for gathering
All bright insinuations that my years have caught
For islands where must lead inviolably
Blue latitudes and levels of your eyes,—
In this expectant, still exclaim receive
The secret oar and petals of all love.”
4- Sonet 116: Let me not to the marriage of true minds by William Shakespeare
“Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand’ring bark,
Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.
Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle’s compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov’d,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.”
5- The Passionate Shepherd to His Love by Christopher Marlowe
“Come live with me and be my love,
And we will all the pleasures prove,
That Valleys, groves, hills, and fields,
Woods, or steepy mountain yields.
And we will sit upon the Rocks,
Seeing the Shepherds feed their flocks,
By shallow Rivers to whose falls
Melodious birds sing Madrigals.
And I will make thee beds of Roses
And a thousand fragrant posies,
A cap of flowers, and a kirtle
Embroidered all with leaves of Myrtle;
A gown made of the finest wool
Which from our pretty Lambs we pull;
Fair lined slippers for the cold,
With buckles of the purest gold;
A belt of straw and Ivy buds,
With Coral clasps and Amber studs:
And if these pleasures may thee move,
Come live with me, and be my love.
The Shepherds’ Swains shall dance and sing
For thy delight each May-morning:
If these delights thy mind may move,
Then live with me, and be my love.”
These are just some of our favorite lesbian wedding ceremony ideas to get you started! Talk to your wedding planner about how to incorporate some of them into your own special day. Wedding vendors are also a really big help, too! Just make sure you choose those that have experience in LGBTQ weddings.
No matter how you plan everything out, we know it’ll always come back to celebrating the most important thing: the beautiful brides!
Have any lesbian wedding ceremony ideas of your own? Sharing is caring, so let us know in the comments below!
I’m a freelance journalist/writer/content marketer with BA Hons in Journalism.
