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The Art of Creating Inclusive Wedding Celebrations

It’s your big day, and you’re looking forward to celebrating it with the people you love. You’ve likely already sent out invitations, selected a venue, and have the perfect garment picked out for when you’re standing at the altar. But wedding planning is a complex process with multiple moving parts, and you have to consider how you can best empower your guests to celebrate with you.

While you and your spouse are the focus of this momentous occasion, you also want to make sure the people you invite are comfortable and able to participate in the celebration. Accessibility features, remote participation, and recognizing a variety of palates, religions, and cultures must all be on your to-do list. If you’re not sure how to account for everyone’s needs so they can share in your good time, you’re in the right place.

Let’s break down how you can create an inclusive wedding celebration. 

Allowing for Remote Participation

Firstly, you have to consider that some of your guests may not be able to attend in person, especially if your wedding is being held in a far-off location or if they’re physically disabled. This may be the case even if you make plans designed to allow as many physical attendees as possible, like having your wedding off-season. That doesn’t mean they don’t want to show their support; it just means that in order to allow them to attend and share in your special day, you’ll have to get a bit creative. 

Live streaming technologies allow guests to attend your wedding remotely, allowing them to be present and celebrate with other guests in an inclusive, interactive forum. These technologies bridge physical distances, allowing guests who may have factors preventing them from attending in person to show support. 

Effective wedding live-streaming will require selecting a tool that can accommodate your number of guests, your venue’s bandwidth capacity, and the right price point for your budget. Platforms like Zoom and Facebook offer built-in, free tools for live streaming your wedding to your social network, though their capacity might be slightly more limited than a paid service. Also, keep in mind several tools incorporate interactive elements, like polls, reactions, and activity integration, and that these will allow guests to participate more directly!

Including Accessibility Features

Now, for those who are attending in person. Your venue may be the perfect aesthetic, facilitate your planned wedding activities, and adequately fit everyone planning to attend; but that doesn’t necessarily make it perfect for everyone. Incorporating accessibility features throughout your venue is one of the best ways you can make sure that everyone attending may do so with ease and comfort. 

If you’re short on ideas for where to start, try these:

• Allowing psychiatric service dogs: Even if you’re not planning on having animals attend, making an exception for service dogs will be crucial for your guests’ mental health. The role of these animals’ presence is incredibly important for your guests, so notify staffing and vendors at the venue appropriately if one is attending and make accommodations regarding seating.
• Accessible seating and navigation: If physically disabled members of your community are attending, you’ll want to incorporate accessible seating and navigation options so they can get around the venue with ease. Test seating at the rehearsal dinner to see if these attendees will have trouble, and incorporate navigation rails and wheelchair ramps wherever possible. 
• Providing multiple catering options: Dietary restrictions and allergies are no joke, and while you may not deliberately set out to serve your guests food they can’t eat, nothing will ruin a wedding dinner for those guests faster. Make sure to survey guests beforehand to discover any dietary restrictions, and offer an assortment of catering options that includes alternatives for dietary restrictions. 

While there are some restrictions and accommodations you may be aware of, others will require a bit more investigation. Make sure to send out surveys or requests for accommodation to everyone on your list to get a solid idea of what your guests may need to celebrate comfortably.

Honoring Religious and Cultural Backgrounds

Finally, you may be from or marrying into a multi-cultural family, or a family that wishes to see multiple religious traditions reflected in your ceremony. The key to managing this effectively is to incorporate elements of both where possible and compromise where necessary. 

For example, elements of your ceremony, such as the ring exchange and the officiant address, can incorporate elements from one or both cultures. The meal that you cater can be made up of foods emblematic of both cultures, with regional delicacies served alongside your personal favorite foods. In matters of religion, you can choose to incorporate elements of one or both faiths into different elements of the decorations, pronouncements, or vows – though if attempting to honor two different religions, this is often where compromise will be most necessary. 

Whatever the final makeup, making sure elements from both are incorporated is a great way to make everyone feel recognized and comfortable. With remote attendance options, accessibility considerations, and elements from both religions and cultures present, everyone will be able to partake in your joy on your special day.