Written by Tarnia Riggs
Founder, All Eyes on Me · October 2026
A wedding for two grooms or partners can honour the traditions you love while making room for your own story. Explore entrances, vows, clothing, wedding parties and thoughtful ways to include the people who support you.
Start with a conversation about what you each want to remember: a meaningful ceremony, a relaxed gathering, an elegant dinner, a lively dance floor or time with your closest people. There is no single way a gay wedding should look.
You may enjoy formal wedding traditions or prefer a small celebration with very few formalities. Choose together rather than assuming one person must take charge of style while the other handles practical arrangements. Share the work according to your interests, time and strengths.
This guide focuses on couples planning a gay wedding, including two grooms. Use the identities and descriptions that suit you; neither your sexuality nor your clothing determines a ceremony role.
Decide whether you would like to be introduced as grooms, husbands, spouses, partners or by your names. Ask your celebrant and reception host to use that wording consistently. Check invitation text, supplier forms and announcements as well as the ceremony script.
Trans men belong in gay wedding planning too. Give suppliers the names and pronouns you use, without feeling obliged to provide a personal history. Your wedding brief should help people address you respectfully.
An introduction might be: Please welcome the newly married Jordan and Chris. Or, if you both prefer it: Let us celebrate our two grooms as they begin this next chapter together.
You can walk in together, enter separately, meet halfway or each arrive with a parent, friend or chosen family member. Both partners can have an entrance; neither must wait at the front simply because that is how a familiar wedding script is written.
Consider whether you want to get ready together, have a private first look or meet for the first time at the ceremony. Tell your photographer which moments matter and allow preparation time for both of you.
If you are entering separately, agree the order, music and where you will meet. A rehearsal or a simple walkthrough can help everyone feel comfortable without making the ceremony rigid.
Best men, best women, best people and attendants of any gender can all be part of your day. Choose people who support your relationship and give them roles they are happy to accept. You can have two wedding parties, one shared group or no attendants.
Matching numbers are optional. Someone can hold the rings, offer a reading or help organise guests without wearing a particular outfit or standing beside you for the whole ceremony.
Parents and chosen family may offer words of welcome, accompany an entrance or witness the celebration. Ask before assigning a public role, and make room for the relationships that genuinely matter to you.
Let your vows describe the person you are marrying and the life you want to build. A small everyday detail can be more moving than a grand statement: the way you support one another, make each other laugh or create a feeling of home.
Agree an approximate length and tone. Keep jokes kind, avoid private details your partner would rather keep private and allow time to practise reading aloud.
An original personal vow example
I choose you as my husband and my partner in this life. I promise to listen, to share the ordinary work as well as the celebrations, and to make space for your hopes alongside my own. I will meet change with you, keep laughter in our home and keep choosing us with care.
Your celebrant will explain which legal words are required and where these additional personal promises fit.
You might choose matching suits, coordinated colours, different tailoring or entirely different outfits. Start with what each person feels comfortable wearing. Neither of you needs to dress as the opposite of the other to create a balanced photograph.
Consider fabric, movement, weather and shoes you can enjoy wearing throughout the day. Fittings should give both partners the same attention, including accessories and any changes between the ceremony and reception.
Buttonholes, bouquets, wrist flowers or no flowers are all options. Coordinate details if you like, but leave room for individual taste. Two distinct outfits can still belong beautifully in one celebration.
Ask suppliers how they adapt their service for two grooms: preparation coverage, portrait time, fittings, seating plans and the language on booking forms. Clear, respectful answers are more useful than a generic promise that everyone is welcome.
Review examples of their work, discuss the ceremony you want and confirm what is included in writing. Ask how they obtain permission before using photographs in portfolios or social media.
If you want a religious wedding, check with the particular minister and congregation before booking. The Uniting Church’s Victorian and Tasmanian Synod explains that authorised ministers may conduct or decline same-gender marriages; local arrangements still need confirmation.
Your relationship does not need an explanation to deserve a joyful celebration. Let speeches focus on your shared story, friendship and hopes rather than treating the wedding as a debate about who you are.
Tell speakers which names, stories and jokes are welcome. Ask a trusted person to manage sensitive guest questions so you do not have to spend the day doing that work yourselves.
You can include Pride colours, a meaningful reading or an acknowledgement of people who supported you. These choices are optional. Agree your photo-sharing preferences with guests and suppliers, especially if some parts of your lives are kept private.
In Australia, marriage equality allows couples to marry regardless of sex or gender. Choose an authorised celebrant and confirm the required notice, witnesses and ceremony wording with them.
For an overseas ceremony or honeymoon, check Smartraveller and the destination’s current requirements before booking. Marriage recognition and local laws can differ, so confirm arrangements rather than assuming Australian rules apply everywhere.
Whatever the setting, build the day around the promises you want to make and the people who will celebrate them with you.
Written by Tarnia Riggs for All Eyes on Me in October 2026. The ceremony ideas and sample personal vows are original planning suggestions.
References and further reading
Government sources cover law and travel. Community sources provide language or faith guidance within their stated scope.