LGBTQ+ Wedding Officiant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Schwa Potter is a Broadway actor turned professional wedding officiant in Milwaukee. He is gay, married to his husband, Ryan, and has married queer couples across Wisconsin since 2015. Every ceremony is built around your love story, and Schwa knows how to bend gender norms within a ceremony, so you get to create it from the ground up. Couples have left Schwa 70 five-star Google reviews.
What should a gay couple look for in a wedding officiant?
A gay or queer couple should look for an officiant who builds the ceremony around your love story, knows how to bend gender norms within a ceremony, and has reviews from LGBTQ+ couples. Those three things tell you the ceremony will be written for you from the first line.
Before you book anyone, ask these questions on the first call:
Can we choose the pronouncement? Wife and wife, husband and husband, married, or your own words.
Do you assume one of us is the bride? A good officiant assigns no roles. You decide who walks in, who stands where, and who speaks first.
Can the ceremony be non-religious? You should get religious, spiritual, or secular, your pick.
Can we read reviews from couples like us? Schwa Potter's are further down this page.
Schwa Potter's Signature Ceremony is built from your questionnaire answers, your love story, and the pronouncement wording you choose. See how the Signature Ceremony works.
Why does it matter that your officiant is queer?
A queer officiant means you can relax from the first call. Many queer couples worry they will hire a vendor who is not comfortable working with them, because those vendors are out there. Schwa is gay, and he says it up front: any two people in love are welcome. Couples feel safe from the start because they know he is queer too, and that he will be sensitive to details that may be new to other vendors or officiants. Putting couples at ease matters to him.
Why marrying queer couples matters to Schwa
Queer couples are Schwa's community. Marriage equality has been the law across America for 11 years, and Schwa grew up believing he would never get married in his lifetime. Today he is married to his husband, Ryan. That history makes every queer wedding feel even more important to do with care, with love, and with a whole lot of joy. For Schwa, it is an honor.
How does Schwa Potter make an LGBTQ+ ceremony inclusive?
Inclusive language is built into how each Acting Officiant ceremony gets written. One couple's review said the inclusive language "was noted and greatly appreciated by our friends."
Built from the ground up
Every ceremony is built around your love story, using your names and your pronouns. Schwa knows how to bend gender norms within a ceremony, so every tradition in it resonates for you.
A pronouncement you choose
You pick how Schwa pronounces you: wife and wife, husband and husband, married, partners, or something you write.
No assigned roles
Nobody plays the bride or the groom by default. Old lines like "who gives this bride away" stay out unless you ask for them.
Room for chosen family
Friends who raised you up can do a reading, present the rings, or join a unity ceremony. The questionnaire asks who you want honored, blood relative or not.
Faith on your terms
Religious, spiritual, or fully secular. Some couples want a blessing, many want none, and both are valid.
Your story at the center
Each partner fills out the questionnaire on their own. Schwa writes the ceremony using your words and your love story, so it couldn't work for anybody but you.
What does a chosen-family wedding look like?
One December, Schwa married a couple surrounded by about 15 of their closest queer friends, their chosen family. Everyone met at the Saint Kate hotel in downtown Milwaukee, then walked into the lobby of the Associated Bank River Center, where a giant Christmas tree was lit up. The ceremony happened right there under the tree: small, twinkly, festive, and full of the people who mattered most.
Is a same-sex wedding in Wisconsin any different legally?
The legal steps are identical for every couple. Same-sex marriage is legal in Wisconsin, and same-sex couples get the same marriage license the same way.
You apply with a county clerk, you need two witnesses age 18 or older, and your officiant signs and returns the license. Schwa Potter files it with the county within 3 days of your ceremony. The free Wisconsin marriage guide covers documents, fees, and timing.
How much does an LGBTQ+ wedding officiant cost in Milwaukee?
Schwa Potter offers two ceremonies at fixed prices, tax included. Both are legal, both are performed by a Broadway actor turned professional wedding officiant with 500+ weddings since 2015.
Signature Ceremony
15-25 minutes
- ✓ Written from scratch around your story
- ✓ A questionnaire for each partner
- ✓ Religious, spiritual, or nonreligious language
- ✓ Cultural traditions and unity ceremonies
- ✓ Unlimited script edits
- ✓ All of Wisconsin plus destination weddings
Quickie Ceremony
5-7 minutes
Not available Saturdays after 1pm
- ✓ Short, pre-written nonreligious ceremony
- ✓ Option to add your own vows
- ✓ Script review before your wedding
- ✓ Marriage license guidance
- ✓ Paperwork filed within 3 days
- ✓ Milwaukee and surrounding counties
Rehearsal coordination: +$150. Travel is free within 30 miles of Milwaukee, with a small travel fee beyond that. A 50% deposit holds your date ($475 Signature, $150 Quickie).
How does booking an LGBTQ+ ceremony with Schwa work?
Send an inquiry
Fill out the contact form with your date and ceremony type. Schwa replies and sets up a phone or Zoom call before you book.
Hold your date
A 50% deposit secures the date: $475 for a Signature Ceremony, $150 for a Quickie Ceremony. The balance is due on the wedding day.
Get your marriage license
You apply with the county clerk. Schwa gives you the officiant details the county asks for. The Wisconsin marriage guide walks through every step.
Tell your story
For a Signature Ceremony, each partner fills out a questionnaire on their own. That is where your names, traditions, and the people you want honored get collected.
Review the script
Schwa writes your ceremony from scratch. You read the draft and ask for changes. Edits are unlimited until every line feels right.
Get married
Schwa arrives early, checks in with you and your coordinator, and performs the ceremony. Everyone signs the license, and Schwa files it with the county within 3 days.
What Do Couples Say About Schwa Potter?
Schwa Potter holds 70 Google reviews, all five stars, as of October 2026. A few of them:
"He walked us through every single step of the process and provided us with suggestions, while still respecting our wishes for our small ceremony. He went the extra mile for us and made our ceremony more special with an added touch of holiday magic. As a queer couple, we are happy that we worked with Schwa as our officiant, and we are very proud to support other LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs."
Felix Gutierrez
"The personalized ceremony touched all the guests and the inclusive language was noted and greatly appreciated by our friends."
May Blume
"My wife and I were married by Schwa and our expectations were blown away! Everything about our experience was honestly perfect."
Erika Tea
"Schwa fulfilled our untraditional tradition quota as our acting 'femme in a white dress' They truly wore it better and more willlingly than either bride in our wedding. So much fun and love to be had when you choose this acting officiant."
Marissa Quell
LGBTQ+ Wedding Officiant FAQ
Do you officiate same-sex weddings in Milwaukee?
Yes. Schwa Potter has officiated weddings for couples of every orientation and gender identity since 2015, in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin. Same-sex couples book the same two ceremonies as everyone else: the $950 Signature Ceremony or the $300 Quickie Ceremony.
Is Schwa Potter gay?
Yes. Schwa Potter is gay and married to his husband, Ryan. He is a Broadway actor turned professional wedding officiant who has married couples of every kind since 2015: gay, lesbian, bi, trans, nonbinary, straight, and interfaith.
Can we choose how you pronounce us married?
Yes. You pick the words. Couples choose wife and wife, husband and husband, married, partners, or wording they write themselves, and Schwa Potter uses it in the declaration and the pronouncement.
Do we have to follow traditional wedding roles?
You set the roles. Nobody gets assigned a bride role or a groom role. Lines like "who gives this bride away" stay out of every Acting Officiant ceremony unless a couple asks for them, and you decide which traditions, if any, make the cut.
Can our LGBTQ+ wedding ceremony be non-religious?
Yes. The Quickie Ceremony is always nonreligious. The Signature Ceremony can be religious, spiritual, or fully secular, and Schwa Potter writes it in whichever language fits you.
How much does an LGBTQ+ wedding officiant cost in Milwaukee?
Schwa Potter charges $950 for a 15-25 minute Signature Ceremony, written from scratch, and $300 for a 5-7 minute Quickie Ceremony. Rehearsal coordination adds $150. Travel is free within 30 miles of Milwaukee, with a small travel fee beyond that.
Do you travel for LGBTQ+ weddings outside Milwaukee?
Yes. Schwa Potter performs Signature Ceremonies anywhere in Wisconsin and travels nationwide for destination weddings. Quickie Ceremonies cover Milwaukee and the surrounding counties.
Who Is Schwa Potter?
Schwa Potter is a Broadway actor turned professional wedding officiant in Milwaukee. He performed in Mary Poppins on Broadway and the national tour, and he has written and performed 500+ ceremonies since 2015. He is gay, married to his husband, Ryan, and ordained through the Universal Life Church since 2012.
LGBTQ+ couples, interfaith couples, and couples who want a non-religious ceremony make up the heart of his work. Every Signature Ceremony starts with each partner's questionnaire and ends with a script written for one couple only.
Ready to check your date? Send an inquiry and Schwa will set up a call.
