Your Inclusive Wedding Planning Guide

two females in wedding outfits, one holding a boho bouquet, standing in front of a black wall.

Planning your wedding comes with a lot of fun, excitement and even overwhelm. It is totally normal because you want to perfect your day to ensure you’re happy, as well as your guests.

Making sure your wedding is inclusive may be something you’re passionate about and that is why you're here. With planning comes your personal ideas and touches such as making sure everyone is happy and looked after.

As a wedding photographer in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, I am going to help you with your planning process, to make your day inclusive. So, without further ado, here is your inclusive wedding planning guide!

Inclusive wedding photographer, Julie Clarke, photographed in black and white, wearing a black hat with the sun peeking just behind, smiling into the camera

5 Ways to Make Your Wedding Inclusive

LGBTQ+ Wedding Suppliers
Inclusive Wedding Venues
Pronouns on Table Cards and Invites
Don’t Enforce Gendered Dress Code
Mixed Gender Wedding Party!

LGBTQ+ Wedding Suppliers

boho themed wedding stationary flatlay — Styled shoot hosted by Love For All Workshop, Photo by Julie Clarke

Inclusive wedding planning can involve finding equality-focused wedding suppliers for everything from your wedding photos, like me, to your floral arrangements and wedding venue.

boho table setting with blue and pink flowers and blue napkins — Styled shoot hosted by SNAP Photo Fest, Photo by Julie Clarke

Choosing the right suppliers with the same vision as you can help you have the inclusive wedding of your dreams, but it's not always easy to tell if a supplier meets those criteria. So, do your research, look at reviews, have a look at their instagram, ask questions and have a chat with them!

It’s important to find LGBTQ+ suppliers, first and foremost. While I’m not part of the community myself, and I do my best to be a friendly, safe space for you. But I would highly suggest finding suppliers who are in the LGBTQ+ community if you are wanting your wedding to be inclusive and fairly representative!

Styled shoot hosted by SNAP Photo Fest, Photo by Julie Clarke

Inclusive Wedding Venues

couple in wedding attire walking in front of a black barn holding hands — Styled shoot hosted by Love for All, Photo by Julie Clarke

Following on from my previous point about suppliers, your wedding venue is the first supplier you will look at and book to secure your wedding date.

Have a look at their instagram or website and make sure you feel comfortable, as well as try to visualise yourself in the space. Take notice if they have inclusive wording in their descriptions, and that they don’t assume that it’s only brides who get married! 😅

Choosing your venue early on will allow you to let all of your guests know of the date well in advance, as well as other suppliers to ensure they can make it.

A couple in wedding outfits pouring champagne into a champagne tower — Styled shoot hosted by Love for All, Photo by Julie Clarke

An inclusive wedding venue is key to inclusive wedding planning so ensure your venue has gender-neutral bathrooms that are easily accessible to all guests. Otherwise, you risk making these important people in your life feel unnoticed and unappreciated at your wedding.

beautiful colourful industrial wedding table scape. Using bright colours like green, pink and yellow — Styled shoot hosted by Love for All, Photo by Julie Clarke

As well, make sure the venue is accessible for those who may need extra assistance such as ramps over stairs etc!

Pronouns on Table Cards and Invites

Day of timeline for wedding. The couple's names are Lil & Danie and it is a dark green sign with pink ribbons in the foreground — Styled shoot hosted by Love for All, Photo by Julie Clarke

Using proper pronouns is one of the simplest yet most meaningful ways to show respect for someone's identity, and encouraging all wedding guests to do so can make your wedding day more inclusive.

Don’t Enforce Gendered Dress Code

guests at a wedding playing mini golf — Real wedding by Suffolk wedding photographer, Julie Clarke

Wedding guests wearing all types of outfits in a group photo celebrating! — Real wedding by Suffolk wedding photographer, Julie Clarke

As part of your inclusive wedding planning, encourage guests to wear whatever makes them feel comfortable.

Group of wedding guests standing and smiling for a photo — Real wedding by Suffolk wedding photographer, Julie Clarke

You can still specify whether this means casual or formal attire is preferred. However, letting your guests know that they are not required to dress a certain way based on traditional gender norms can feel like a huge weight lifted, and it goes a long way towards honouring inclusivity and diversity.

Mixed Gender Wedding Party!

A wedding party where the bride is standing in the middle of her wedding people. The females are all wearing a light purple dress and the two males are wearing dark blue suits — Real wedding by Suffolk wedding photographer, Julie Clarke

Mixed-gender wedding parties allow you to have a party that includes your closest friends and family regardless of their gender, and it makes people of all genders feel more welcome at your wedding.

Why put a label on who you should celebrate with? You shouldn’t! So inclusive wedding planning means doing what you want to do, to ensure no one has been left out!

You Can Rewrite Any Traditions You’re Uncomfortable With!

There are so many old traditions that are not inclusive. Feel free to throw out anything that makes you feel uncomfortable. This is YOUR day, you can make it however you want.

Traditions that you can throw right into the rubbish:

-One female only getting a ring during engagement. Give each other rings or presents or scrap this altogether until you exchange rings on the wedding day.

-Getting ready separately. It’s very common now for partners to live together before marriage, so why is it bad luck to see each other before you walk down an aisle?

-Being “given away” by your father/male figure. You are not anyone’s property, so you can get rid of this tradition and instead be supported by family members walking up or down the aisle and asking your registrar or celebrant to word this in a more inclusive way.

-Father daughter/ Mother son only dances. Dance with your mum if she was your strongest supporter. Or another option is to start dancing with one parent and halfway through switch to the other. You don’t have to stick to the gendered pairings of traditional dances unless you WANT to!

Are You Ready to Start Inclusive Wedding Planning?

There it is! Your inclusive wedding planning guide, so you have some lovely ideas to ensure everyone invited to your big day feels included, thought of and appreciated.

A couple in wedding attire cutting a boho wedding cake and looking lovingly at each other — Styled shoot hosted by Love for All, Photo by Julie Clarke

You are about to celebrate one of the happiest days of your life so why would not want everyone to enjoy it just as much as you?

If you are ready to enquire about your inclusive wedding photography and you’d like to have a coffee and chat, then let’s get to know eachother and see if I am the photographer for you!