Same-sex marriages have been in the news over the past couple of years. In August this year, the BBC took a stand and aired a same-sex wedding on the famous ‘Songs of Praise’. Is this a sign of a modern approach to this historic programme, attempting to draw in a younger audience?
The Special Couple
This same-sex wedding took place in a church near Glasgow and saw the marriage of Jamie Wallace and Ian McDowall. The wedding happened within a United Reformed Church, as same-sex marriages are currently banned by both the Church of England and the Church in Wales. Jamie and Ian are Christians themselves, and were thrilled to have the backing of their local congregation.
Controversial Watching
As part of a drive to modernise this age-old programme, the BBC have been playing with a few different ideas to attract a different audience. Revd Kate Bottley was criticised for sitting down next to someone drinking alcohol at Glastonbury, whilst filming ‘Songs of Praise’. It has recently been stated that
Same Sex Weddings
Giving some airtime to celebrate the marriage of Jamie and Ian certainly caused a few heads to turn. The interesting thing was watching how the ceremony differed from a traditional wedding.
If you haven’t already seen our same-sex wedding answers blog then do go and have a look if you have any doubts about how to arrange your own same-sex wedding.
It was lovely to see both grooms being walked up the aisle by their mothers! They also kept the romantic tradition of one half of the couple waiting at the altar for the other.
Stuck In Our Ways
Unfortunately, according to @Pink News, the BBC received more than 1200 complaints over this ‘Songs of Praise’ same-sex wedding. However, the TV show received almost 400 letters of congratulations praising the show for airing this modern wedding.
Although airing this same-sex wedding to the British public was a step in the right direction, as you can see there is still a lot of negativity surrounding the subject. Our aim here at Country House Weddings is to help couples plan their big day exactly as they had dreamed of.
We turn your vision into reality and have a great network of wedding suppliers for you to choose from. Please feel free to contact us today to have a look round some of the stunning venues that we have, and get a date in the diary for your 2020 wedding.
