What's the alternative?

This weekend I had a wedding that for most of us looked like a fairly traditional wedding. Apparently not to everyone though. When this couple were looking at one particular venue they were talking to the owner about their wedding plans and mentioned that the bride was having her brothers as her bridesmen along with two of her best female friends. The groom also had a best man and two female groomswomen. The owner of the venue said “So you’re having an alternative wedding?”

In 2019 with same sex marriage being legally performed in 25 countries, I thought that we would have moved on from the notion that we can only have close friends who are the same gender as ourselves. I myself was a “bridesman” for a school friend when she got married many years ago now and then it was uncommon to have a male attendant on the bride’s side. These days it’s quite common.

The wedding was a beautiful affair and it makes me feel lucky to be a part of a ceremony that is gently challenging conventions. The couple in question decided that if they were going to be called “alternative” just because of the gender of their chosen bridal party then the venue probably wasn’t going to be a good fit for them. It turned out they found a beautiful venue in Logan Brae Orchards and their day couldn’t have been more perfectly them!