Article by our friends at Truly Experiences, header image by Artisan X Photography. See Jennie & Verity’s wedding here

Are you looking for style inspiration for your same-sex or LGBTQI+ wedding outfits? We’re here to help!

Gone are the days of rigid rules regarding what brides and grooms can wear on their wedding days. Nowadays, you can essentially wear whatever wedding attire you’d like to – and while that gives you plenty of freedom, it can leave you feeling overwhelmed and at a loss as to where to start putting your outfits together. This is especially true when the big day you’re planning involves two grooms or two brides (or two people without any labels at all!).

Do you want your outfits to match? Do you plan on dressing completely differently? What about your hair and makeup? Will both of you be wearing dresses or suits, or a combination thereof? Do you want your accessories and grooming styles to match, or would you rather express yourselves individually through your fashion choices?

Here are our best fashion tips for coordinating your same-sex wedding outfits to ensure that you both look flawless on the most important day of your lives!

1. Determine Your Dress Code

Your wedding’s dress code is an excellent place to start when you’re looking for outfit inspiration. What is the style of your venue, and what do you want your guests to wear to the ceremony? If you have a dress code in mind, consider the season in which you will be getting married as well.
Winter weddings call for warmer outfits, stylish thick jackets and longer dresses, while summer ceremonies give you a chance to play around with shorter and lighter garments. Working out your wedding’s dress code will immediately give your attire choice a direction.

2. To Match or Not to Match?

Many same-sex and LGBTQ+ couples choose matching outfits for their weddings, but, as we mentioned above, there are no rules holding you back. Choosing matching outfits can make things easier for a pair of grooms in particular, while brides may struggle to find a dress style that flatters both of their body shapes and personalities.

One benefit of choosing matching outfits is that this choice immediately halves the number of decisions you need to make regarding your wedding attire. Matching outfits can also look sleek and impressive – and remember, you don’t need to match entirely, either. Shake things up with ties, pocket squares and shirts in different colours for grooms, or matching shoes, accessories or bouquets for brides.

3. Let Your Personal Style Guide Your Choices

If you and your soon-to-be-spouse aren’t keen on the idea of matching completely, you can still coordinate your styles while giving your outfits your own personal flair. Complementary outfits are a fantastic solution for any bride or groom pair, as they look cohesive and compliment each other without being too uniform.

There are a few factors to remember when coordinating your wedding outfit styles: your personal styles, your wedding’s colour scheme, and the dress code you’ve chosen for your guests. You could select a handful of complimentary colours and patterns or contrasting fabrics for your outfits, or change up your accessories to add interest to your looks. One can wear a bow tie and the other a necktie, for example, or one of you could wear a dress in a certain colour and the other a suit with a tie or shirt that matches that hue.

Brides can pick two vastly different dresses with similar details or fabrics to create visual cohesion in their looks. Couples can choose attire according to certain themes, like art deco or grandmillenial styles, to achieve this effect. Even the simplest of commonalities, like matching necklines or patterned ties, can coordinate wedding outfits beautifully. Bridal tuxedos and jumpsuits are in fashion right now, and they add an interesting spin on the traditional, tried-and-true white dress and suit combination.

4. Celebrate Opposite Day

Still not keen on matching your outfit with your about-to-be spouse’s? Each of you are free to choose an outfit that reflects your personal taste and style instead. This is a particularly suitable option for couples who have distinctive or alternative daily looks and want to convey their personalities through their choice of wedding attire.

Your wedding is the perfect occasion to express your true self, after all! One of you can wear white and the other black or colour, or one a dress and the other a suit, or any variation of traditional attire you can think of. The choice is up to you, so be sure to choose an outfit that you are comfortable with and expresses your individual tastes and preferences.

5. Coordinate Your Grooming

Groom and bride couples alike can add cohesion to their wedding outfits by harmonising their grooming and makeup approaches. For example, a pair of grooms can style their hair or beards similarly while keeping their outfits unique for a touch of uniformity without going overboard.

For many brides, hair and beauty forms a big part of their special day. Brides can have their makeup done in similar styles or highlight the same features with smokey eyeshadow or dark lipstick. If you don’t like the idea of looking like twins but you would like some visual unity, this is a subtle way to achieve that on a fairly minimal budget.

It’s Your Day To Shine

When it comes to same-sex wedding outfits, the sky is the limit. You can opt for traditional attire or choose to wear something completely unique and breathtaking on your big day.

Groom and bride pairs can opt to wear suits, dresses, or a combination of the two, matching, contrasting or somewhere in between. It’s no longer necessary to stick to the tried-and-true white dress for women and dark suits for men – unless you’d like to do so, of course.

Our top tip is to ensure that your wedding outfit communicates your irreplaceable sense of style and personality to your guests, and that you feel comfortable and confident while wearing it. If you’re pleased with your choice, your spouse will undoubtedly be happy too.