Gay Wedding Ideas

A celebration of love and togetherness is a celebration of just that regardless of the sex of the couple, and since same-sex couples have been able to display their love for each other by tying the knot, The Arabian Tent Company have been providing fabulous tented spaces to create a fitting environment in which to do so.

Meet Beau and Carl who wed last year in sunny Roehampton near The Thames, surrounded by 200 of their favourite people under the canopy of our La Rouge and Bombay Boudoir tents.

Civil partnerships are a relaxed affair with no formal exchange of vows, so gay couples chose to do their own thing avoiding anything which could appear to reinforce out-dated gender stereotypes like ‘stag’ do’s and ‘hen’ parties. However, the day needs structure so many gay couples adopt the same procedures as straight weddings.

A wedding is a remarkably simple premise – the celebration of love and commitment between two people, witnessed by those individuals that are most important to the couple. And given that gay weddings have been legal in the UK for several years now, The Arabian Tent Company have found that there is an increase in couples wanting to publically display their commitment and respect for each other by having a gay wedding. And as this is not a normal wedding - why have a normal tent? Something bombastic, colourful and fabulous is what is required for the occasion;

And for the rest of us, what a celebration and what a great day to re-evaluate one’s own feelings towards a partner – it’s a day full of goodwill and good feelings.

“Any day spent with you is my favourite day, so today is my new favourite day.” Winnie the Pooh

This upbeat, loved-up atmosphere is created by the guests but also the perfect gay wedding venue – setting, environment and all the finer details like the flowers, catering and entertainment all working together to make a fabulous gay wedding day.

Gay weddings have had a major positive influence too on other weddings in that people feel now that they can break with tradition, break free of any constraints they may have had. So, what to consider? Well, many couples choose to complement each other’s outfits with wonderful pink shirt weddings;

And while certain traditions remain (cutting the cake, the first dance) things like asking a parents’ consent to marry and rushing off to the honeymoon straight after the reception, nowadays, are a little passé and don’t really belong in a same sex marriage.

As our traditions are challenged and amended, weddings can develop with more creative thought going into them and the traditions that are meaningful are kept, and those which are less relevant are left.

Something that really has blossomed, literally, in recent years is the floristry. Let’s look at buttonholes for a start. All flowers have meanings: Roses, beauty and romance; Mini Calla Lily, faithfulness and purity; Stephanotis, happiness; Orchids, love and beauty; Lavender, love and devotion.

The same applies for bouquets and posies. Stephanotis is an all-white flower intrinsically linked with luxury and glamour and smells amazing too.

Then, of course, the marquees. The phrase, “Camp as a row of pink tents” has a lot to answer for and here at the Arabian Tent Company, we can camp it up like no other. Purple Palace, Bombay Boudoir and La Rouge are perfect queer wedding tents and reek of glamour, passion and a little decadence, whereas our Pearl tents offer a certain summer sensuality. All the tents in the collection have something unusual and different about them - perfect for a celebration that is unusual and as unique as those that celebrate inside them.

I think you'll agree that the tents from The Arabian Tent Company make a fabulous gay wedding venue as they reflect the difference and uniqueness of the couple of and guests alike, as well creating a feel good atmosphere for the day. Gay weddings certainly champion difference and creativity – they celebrate love not gender in an age where it should be seen as meritocratic to be different.

I hope you've enjoyed the selection of pictures here from the fabulous gay wedding of Beau and Carl who live in New York, and married in Roehampton on the edge of the Thames. They show that the décor and furnishings can perfectly match the eccentricity and flamboyance of the couple and occasion!

At this gay wedding they used a combination of the La Rouge and Bombay Boudoir interiors, and had butlers in the buff serving them at dinner.

It was all kept very informal with a mixture of lounge seating and dining seating, and they had a stunning pealight black dancefloor – what style!

“The only queer people are those who don’t love anybody.” Rita Mae Brown