Gay Weddings are Good for Business

Research, data, advice and tips on the business of same-sex weddings from Bernadette Coveney Smith, the nation's leading gay wedding expert. In 2004, Bernadette opened 14 Stories, the first company in the U.S. to specialize in planning legal same-sex weddings.

Weekly Gay Marriage Roundup Vol 6

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Friday, March 05, 2010

Where do I begin?  It was a fantastic week for gay marriage, with it beginning in both DC and Mexico City of all places.  Mexico City is especially notable because it's such a Catholic country.  Here we go....

In the states:

• Notoriously anti-marriage equality state Senator Roy Ashburn of California (a supporter of Proposition 8) was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after leaving a gay bar.  
• Gay marriage officially begins in Washington, DC.  151 couples applied for their marriage license on Wednesday, amit little protest.  They can pick up their license and get married on March 9.
• However, in the wake of gay marriage in DC, Catholic Charities will no longer offer health insurance coverage to newlyweds or new hires.
• Now that DC has legal gay marriage and Maryland's Attorney General has stated that the state will recognize out of state marriages, the debate over gay marriage in Maryland has intensified again.  The legislature is debating two bills right now:  one would allow gay marriage and another which would attempt to ban it via a ballot initiative.
• Although the current governor of Rhode Island, Don Carcieri is anti-marriage equality, all the candidates to replace him support marriage equality.  Governor Carcieri can't run again due to term limits.
• Pro-marriage equality Governor Paterson of New York has ended his campaign for election because of poor poll numbers and scandal.

Around the world:

• Mexico City began issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples this week! 
• The Government of Cyprus is looking into legalizing gay marriage.
• A gay marriage bill has been approved by Portugal's Parliament and is now headed to the President desk.  President Anibal Cavaco Silva opposes gay marriage.

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How to Address Gay Wedding Invitations

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Wednesday, March 03, 2010

It's confusing to figure out how to address invitations to LGBT couples.  Here's the rundown on how envelopes are addressed:

Outer envelope:  If they are an unmarried couple, the names should be on two separate lines, alphabetized, ie:

Ms. Jennifer Coveney

Ms. Bernadette Smith

14 Willow Street

Boston, MA 

02110

Inner envelope:  Ms. Coveney and Ms. Smith

Outer envelope:  If they are married with different last names, the names should be on the same line, alphabetized, ie:

Ms. Jennifer Coveney and Ms. Bernadette Smith

14 Willow Street

Boston, MA 

02110

Inner envelope:  Ms. Coveney and Ms. Smith

Outer envelope:  If they are married with the same last name, the names should be on the same line, alphabetized, ie:

Mrs. and Mrs. Bernadette and Jennifer Coveney-Smith

14 Willow Street

Boston, MA 

02110

Inner envelope:  Mrs. and Mrs. Coveney-Smith

PS - that's not our real address!

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Mark Kingsdorf, MBC commented on 19-Jun-2010 10:02 AM

Great post, people always come to us with that same question...

Of course it's not your real address, unless you live in a strip mall?

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Gay Marriage & the States: Maryland

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Monday, March 01, 2010

If you missed the news, last week the Attorney General of Maryland wrote that Maryland state agencies should begin recognizing gay marriages performed in states where they are legal.  Let's take a closer look at the laws in Maryland.

• Maryland does not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples
• Besides this, Maryland does not have any other statewide protections for same-sex couples.  
• Maryland has a law banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation (though not gender identity).  This means, as a wedding industry vendor, you are required by law to work with all couples, regardless of sexual orientation.  It's illegal to discriminate. 
• According to the U.S. Census, in 2005, there were 15,600 same-sex couples living in Maryland.

A good number of my clients come from other states and will certainly be traveling from Maryland to be legally married here in Massachusetts or in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont.  

Do you know of any Marylanders planning to marry now that they can?  How are you planning to prepare yourself to reach this market? 

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