A Queer Girls Guide to Navigating Weddings - Guest Blog by Charlotte Nash

Guest blogger Charlotte Nash*

Recently a beautiful girl invited me to a wedding. I immediately wanted to find out all I could about being the perfect date. So I looked to the trusty Internet for help. I found websites with tips for straight couples but what I didn't find was information for girls who are taking girls to a wedding, or guys who are taking guys for that matter. This got me thinking. Why is it that in 2012 the gay community, which has been around since the dawn of man, is still underrepresented?

So I decided I would create a wedding date checklist for girls who love girls. This is my attempt at bridging the gap between straight and gay.

So lets get down to business. 

 

Step 1. The first and most important step is looking your best. So put on your best dress or suit and a pair of your nicest heels or boots. Then make sure your hair is styled to perfection and you smell as lovely as a summer day. It is a wedding so I wouldn't be too dramatic. You don't want to over shadow the bride. Now find a nice jacket it could be your best leather jacket, a blazer, or for you bois a suit jacket. Girls you are now officially ready to pick up your lady.

Step 2. Make sure to bring her either flowers or a corsage. You want her to feel special it may not be her big day but you want her to know that someday it will be. Plus when you show up at any ladies door with flowers she is bound to melt. Unless she is allergic in that case maybe you bring chocolates. If she is allergic to both flowers and chocolate then your cliché romantic gifts will have to be sidelined in exchange for something more original. The point is that you show up with something that shows you are grateful to be going with her on your arm.

 

Step 3.  Once you have given her your gift it's time to head to the wedding. Make sure you pick her up early but not too early. You don't want to show up to a wedding late but you also don't want to be super early. Making sure your timing is just right is essential to avoiding any awkwardness. Make sure to open her car door and have an excellent soundtrack ready for the drive. Now I know this sounds old fashioned but maybe that’s the hopeless romantic in me. I feel it is important to set the mood for the rest of the date and when you start by making her feel special you are on the right path.

Step 4. By this time you are at the wedding. Make sure your phone is on silence, nothing worse than being the jerk whose phone rings during the vows. Meeting the bride and groom can be nerve wracking if you have never met them before, but nine times out of ten you will already know the couple. If this is however one of your first dates then make sure to make a great first impression. Your lady’s friends mean the world to her just as yours do to you so make sure you show her that you care. No one wants to be the significant other that everyone hates.

 

Step 5. Make sure to dance. The worst mistake you can make is to just sit around after dinner. Dancing is the most exciting part of a wedding. This is your opportunity to show your skills. So ladies bust a move and when that slow song plays hold her close and tell her how happy you are she brought you.

 

Step 6. Don't drink too much. I know the fun that can come along with alcohol but it's important to maintain your cool even with an open bar. No one wants to be seen with the hot mess. So stick to a two-drink maximum. You want to remember the night right?

 

Step 7. The wedding is over now its time to take your date home. By now she should be thoroughly impressed with your wedding date skills. The rest of the evening is up to her. Don't invite yourself back to her place. If you did things right she will invite you herself.

I don't claim to be an expert on dating but I do know that this is the way I would want to be treated. So here it is, our mark on the Internet wedding scene. Hopefully within the next few years we will be celebrating our own weddings across America.

*Charlotte Nash is a gay lady and photographer. Visit her on her music blog and facebook!