LGBTQ+ celebrants to feature at Guernsey wedding show

Oli Bailey-Davies and Ellie Jones from Queerly Beloved will be at the wedding show

LGBTQ+ celebrants are going to be represented for the first time at The Guernsey Wedding Show.

Ellie Jones and Oli Bailey-Davies from Queerly Beloved will be at the event at Beau Sejour Leisure Centre on Sunday.

They said while they could not claim to be the Channel Islands' only LGBTQ+ celebrants they would be "putting their big gay flag in the sand" at the show.

The duo added that it was important to show people that they could have a different look to their big day.

Mr Bailey-Davies said the number of LGBTQ+ ceremonies across the Channel Islands was "definitely on the increase".

He added that while they are primarily there to serve they LGBTQ+ community, he and Ms Jones were also there for anyone who wants them to help.

"We are here for anybody who wants to queer the narrative around what it means to get married and what a wedding is," Mr Bailey-Davies said.

'No rules'

Same-sex marriage became legal on the UK mainland in 2014 before it was legalised on Guernsey in 2017, with Jersey and Alderney following suit a year later and Sark in 2020.

Ms Jones said since same-sex weddings were legalised, attitudes had changed "massively" although some assumptions around ceremonies still existed.

She added they wanted to show at the event what a LGBTQ+ wedding could be.

"One of the things I love about being gay, being LGBT and weddings is there are no rules," Ms Jones said.

"You're not stuck in that 'ok, we have to do it this way' way - you can do it how you want."

The show is due to be open between 10:00 and 16:00 GMT.