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 same-sex weddings.

An Introduction

Bernadette Coveney Smith - Tuesday, November 17, 2009
I wanted to introduce this site since I'll be doing most of my blogging over here now.  I've been planning gay weddings for 5 1/2 years, since they were first legalized in Massachusetts six years ago.  Back then lots of people thought I was crazy and advised that having such a specific niche would limit my market.

One of the first things I did when I started my company is put together a list of screened gay-friendly and gay-owned businesses to whom I would feel comfortable referring my clients.  I wrote up questions for each category of wedding vendor: caterer, florist, jeweler, etc - and then cold called a whole bunch of people.  I started my list of places to call based on Pink Pages and Bay Windows advertisers.  

I quickly found out that even though a business advertised in Bay Windows, that did not guarantee that they were gay-friendly.  I had many uncomfortable conversations in those early days and many since.  My goal was to always make sure my clients felt protected from having those conversations themselves.

And that's the goal of this website - to support wedding industry businesses who want to do the right thing and be inclusive of all couples.  I can show you how.





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