(Photo © Pavel Abramov / iStock / Getty)
The Church of England doesn’t currently permit weddings for same-sex couples, yet the culture has moved decisively away from seeing marriage as exclusively between a woman and a man. I now offer same-sex couples my standard two marriage preparation sessions. Interestingly, I’ve found that these conversations aren’t much different from the ones I was already having with wedding couples.
That’s partly because a good deal of marriage preparation is particular to the individual couple: the sibling that died, the parent who refuses to believe anyone is good enough for their child, the past relationship that casts a long shadow. I once asked a prospective spouse, “Given that you’ve experienced the worst a marriage can be, may I inquire how you’ve found the confidence now to be entering it a second time?” I…