As weddings continue to modernise and couples begin to care less about what their older relatives might think, new ideas for the wedding as a whole are being implemented. One of these, the gender-neutral wedding party, aims to make weddings more inclusive of everyone.
For many, the idea that the wedding party should be gendered (i.e. males have only male friends in the wedding party and females have only female friends in the wedding party), is a bit old school.
Firstly, people have friends of all genders. It seems odd to only include those who identify as the same gender as you do. Secondly, the idea that wedding parties should be gendered is exclusionary for those who do not fall into the gender binary.
By going for a gender-neutral wedding party, you can include those who you have the closest relationships with, without being held back by the idea of gender categorisation.
Anything from terminology to logistics is also easy to work around. There is no need to worry about what you will call the members of the bridal party. Is that really important? However, if you’re set on labelling them, you can go for fun alternatives like “bridesmate”, “bridesman”, “groomsmaid”, or anything that you’d like.
Have you seen our gender-neutral MATE of honour cards?
Made in collaboration with @equalitywed, they’re the perfect way to ask your friends to join your wedding party – whoever they are.
Visit https://t.co/kCXhkgVsUl to see the full #gettinhitchedrocks range. pic.twitter.com/W7N4mqNQen
— Gettin’ Hitched Rocks (@HitchedTweets) May 13, 2019
Similarly, you might think that they still need to walk down the aisle in opposite-sex pairs. Why not have some same-sex pairs, or have them walk down the aisle individually?
Further, the gender-neutral wedding party could take some strain off of you when it comes to organising. For example, instead of finding the perfect outfit for each member of the party, you can assign them a colour and they can each go out and find something that they would be comfortable to wear.
The gender-neutral wedding party is perfect for inclusivity and makes all your loved ones feel welcome and comfortable. Who wouldn’t want that?
Feature image: Unsplash
