LGBTQ+ Weddings: An Inclusive Premarital Counseling & Ceremony Toolkit

LGBTQ+ Weddings: An Inclusive Premarital Counseling & Ceremony Toolkit

Create meaningful, affirming weddings for LGBTQ+ couples with a complete resource designed specifically for pastors, clergy, chaplains, and wedding officiants.

This digital toolkit provides practical guidance for walking with a couple from their first premarital meeting through the wedding day. Rather than adapting a heterosexual marriage resource by simply changing a few words, the material intentionally addresses experiences and decisions that can be especially important for queer couples.

The toolkit includes a three-session premarital counseling guide covering communication and conflict, finances, household and emotional labor, intimacy, family relationships, chosen family, children and family planning, children from previous relationships, faith and religious experiences, evolving identities, safety and minority stress, legal protections, and preparing for a shared future.

It also helps clergy create a ceremony that reflects the couple themselves, including names, pronouns, relationship titles, family structure, chosen family, faith traditions, and the language they want used when they are pronounced married.

WHAT'S INCLUDED

• Three-session LGBTQ+ premarital counseling guide

• Queer-specific counseling topics and clergy guidance

• Names, pronouns & relationship-title guidance

• Family boundaries & navigating unsupportive relatives

• Honoring chosen family

• Children & family-building conversations

• Children from previous marriages or relationships

• Finances, household responsibilities & emotional labor

• Communication, conflict & repair

• Intimacy & maintaining connection

• Legal and practical protection conversations

• Faith, religious experiences & evolving beliefs

• Professional referral guidance when needs extend beyond pastoral care

• Ceremony-planning guidance

• Traditional Christian wedding ceremony

• Interfaith wedding ceremony

• Secular wedding ceremony

• Symbolic and unity ritual ideas including handfasting/knot tying, unity sand, candles, ring warming, planting, remembrance, community blessings and more

ALSO INCLUDED: PRINTABLE COUPLE PREPARATION BOOKLET

The toolkit includes a separate Before We Get Married booklet that clergy can print, place in a folder, and give to the couple at their first premarital counseling meeting.

Rather than repeating the counseling questions, this booklet gives the couple practical things to do before getting married, including:

marriage-license preparation • wedding and first-year budgeting • beneficiaries and important legal documents • insurance • combining households • shared calendars • routine health preparation • planning a wedding-free date • establishing couple rituals • preparing family and chosen-family relationships • preparing when children are already part of the family • writing vows • gathering handfasting cords, unity sand, candles or other ritual materials • rehearsal-week preparation • a 48-hours-before-the-wedding checklist • and important post-wedding tasks.

The couple booklet has a clean white background, 12 pt+ text, and print-friendly formatting so pastors and officiants can easily reproduce a fresh copy for each couple.

DESIGNED FOR

Christian clergy • progressive and affirming churches • interfaith officiants • chaplains • independent wedding officiants • LGBTQ+ affirming ministry leaders

Digital PDF | Instant Download | Printable Resource

No physical product will be shipped.

Curiosity & Common Good Co. | Faith & Wonder
Resources for a kinder, more inclusive world.