Since it wasn’t legal for gay people to get married in the United States until 2015, LGBTQ couples have been creating their own traditions and rituals.
Many gay wedding traditions and rituals stem from heterosexual wedding traditions, but with a twist.
Gay wedding traditions also highlight the LGBTQ community and the value of marriage equality, as these couples have been oppressed for so long.
Check out ten beautiful and meaningful gay wedding rituals and traditions.
1. Unity Ceremony
Because gay weddings have only recently been allowed, many couples like to perform a unity ceremony to express their love and devotion to one another. Many of these unity rituals also occur at male and female weddings, but they’re especially popular at LGBTQ weddings.
You can let these ideas inspire you and do something slightly different, or use one of these lovely ideas to highlight your commitment to one another.
Sand Mixing
One of the most popular unity ceremonies done at gay weddings is the sand mixing unity ceremony. For this ritual, each partner has a bag or jar of one colored sand. At the same time, they each pour their sand out into a new jar together.
As they pour, the sands mix, and the officiant usually recites a passage about two becoming one. The two colored grains of sand can make for a beautiful combination, and the couple often shakes the jar to completely homogenize the sand, signifying their unity.
Couples often keep the jar of sand to remember their wedding and the vows they made to each other, as the sand cannot separate once mixed.
Melting Candles
This unity ritual is similar to sand mixing but is a much slower and more beautiful process. At the beginning of the ceremony, each partner lights a tall candle. The two candles are different colors and sit in the same bowl or plate.
Depending on how tall the candles are, the wax will melt and mix by the end of the ceremony or reception. This signifies how the two have joined as one, as the wax can never separate. Many couples will keep the melted wax as a beautiful memento from their wedding.
Handfasting
Handfasting is a common wedding ritual in many cultures, including Celtic, Wiccan, and Pagan. In this ritual, the marrying couple joins hands, and the officiant wraps a ribbon or rope around their hands to signify they’re joining together in marriage.
The officiant usually recites readings on love and commitment as they wrap the couple’s hands. LGBTQ couples will often use a rainbow ribbon to highlight the significance of the marriage, something that wasn’t permitted until recently.
2. Ring Warming
A ring warming is a unique wedding ritual, and it’s also done at male and female weddings. The wedding rings are given to the guests at the beginning of the ceremony.
They pass them around and whisper their wishes, prayers, and goodwill for the couple into the rings. When the rings make it back to the couple, they’re filled with love and support from the people who mean the most to the couple.
The ring warming ritual is immensely powerful and moving for LGBTQ couples who may have faced adversity for loving each other.
3. Jumping the Broom
This ritual has a long history, but gay couples are bringing it back. At the end of the ceremony, as they leave, they jump over a broom together, holding hands. This jump represents the couple sweeping the past away to start a new life together.
The meaning behind jumping over the broom can be especially meaningful to LGBTQ couples who have traveled a long and hard road to be able to get married.
The broom has decorations added by friends and family and signed with love, making it a wonderful keepsake from the wedding for the couple.
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