Weddingbee Blog

So how does it feel planning a same-sex wedding in Alberta? It can feel a little strange at times! Alberta is known as the “Texas of the North,” and we Albertans really do live up to that reputation. We’re very conservative, we hunt, we drill oil, and we have cowboys. When we visit Fiancée Eagle’s dad, he regularly serves us homemade deer and elk stew…from the last weekend’s hunting trip. We’re a little country.

Image via Unique Cake Toppers

So how have the reactions been to our same-sex wedding? As I said in my last post, our venue was awesome and supportive upfront, there were no issues.

On the other hand, a few vendors I’ve contacted have been less than accepting. I’ve had vendors not respond altogether when I’ve stated upfront that we’re a lesbian couple…which is the worst, because you’re left wondering if they just don’t have your date open, or if they are being silently homophobic. I’ve had vendors increase prices on quoted services once discovering we’re gay, and vendors also just downright say they aren’t comfortable with “that kind of wedding.” Unfortunately, in Alberta, it is LEGAL for non-religious legal marriage commissioners to refuse to marry same-sex couples.

It’s all quite sad. I respect everyone’s right to an opinion, and I accept everyone the way they are. I can’t ask to be accepted as a GLBT individual if I can’t accept someone else as an individual who is opposed to same-sex unions.

But, what I can ask for is respect. Respect that my marriage will (thankfully!) be legal, and that our nation has spoken on this issue (many years ago, I might add). I can ask for respect from vendors in terms of not commenting on my relationship or my sexual orientation. I can ask for respect in that I be treated the same as heterosexual fellow brides-to-be, in terms of price of services. I can ask for someone to perform their job without picking and choosing the marriages they do support and don’t support.

We’ve made it a point to be very upfront with all of our vendors about us being a same-sex couple in the initial email or phone call. We don’t want to have to deal with any embarrassment, increased prices, or failure-to-perform on behalf of our vendors.

And we’re happy to say that every vendor we have booked has either made our same-sex status a non-issue or said they support same-sex marriage 100%, no questions asked. These are the people that we want to keep in business. These are the people we will (hopefully!) be writing excellent reviews on!

Are you a “nontraditional” bride, too? Have you encountered any vendors who have been not so peachy-keen on securing your business because of it? How did you deal with it?