Old Government House Wedding Celebrants Archives

Choosing Equality friendly wedding vendors

Authors Cara and Jamie of Brisbane City Celebrants

At Brisbane City Celebrants we are genuinely honoured every time we are chosen as the Celebrant for a same-sex wedding. We understand many of our couples have experienced difficult times and often lack the support of family members so it’s imperative to us that we are part of creating an amazing and memorable wedding day. Sadly we continue to hear stories from our couples alongside regular press reports of same-sex couples being refused service, treated inadequately and being discriminated against. We have written this post to assist couples with choosing equality friendly wedding vendors.

When choosing your wedding vendors you want to be sure you really ‘connect’ with them and that you’re all on the same page when it comes to the role they will be playing on your big day.

This is particularly important for same-sex couples who will likely enjoy a better experience in the lead up to and on the special day, by carefully selecting wedding vendors that are genuinely passionate and supportive of your relationship.

Do your research

Before contacting your potential dream team of suppliers, do your research and read reviews (Google Reviews and Facebook Reviews are a great place to start). No vendor can describe the service you can expect to receive more accurately than their former clients.

Check their website

A quick scan of their home page, and real weddings they have featured on their website will give you an indication of how enthusiastic they are about same-sex weddings.

The wording of their website will also give you a good indication of if they have you in mind as their ideal client, for example, are they talking to brides only, or to brides and grooms and couples in general.

Social Media

Practically every supplier in the wedding industry has a social media presence and following the recent campaign in Australia for marriage equality, equality friendly vendors will likely be proudly displaying their support on their social media pages.

Needless to say if you spot rainbows and wedding images showcasing same-sex couples, you can rest assured they will be delighted to hear from you.

A question to ask your potential wedding vendors:

What experience do you have working with same-sex couples?

While any experience working with same-sex couples is appreciated and reinforces the vendors support of marriage equality, many vendors simply haven’t had the opportunity to work with same-sex couples.

Having done your research, and carefully selected who you would like to contact, by simply engaging in conversation with the right people, you will quickly realise how comfortable or excited they are about potentially being a part of your special day.