Gay Weddings are Good for Business

Community Marketing Inc has released the Top 25 US Destinations for American LGBT Travelers.  Note that from this list of 25 cities, only three are places where gay marriage is legal (Boston, Provincetown and Washington, DC).  Also note that some cities and states where gay marriage IS legal aren't on the list - hello Des Moines!  What about New Haven?!

If your wedding business covers any of these cities and markets, you should pay special attention to this blog to learn more about the needs and expectations of the lucrative same-sex wedding market.  If your city is on this list, when gay marriage becomes legal in your area, you can expect a large surge of new potential clients. Percentage is the amount who visited and spent the night in a hotel...

1) New York City: 32%
2) San Francisco: 27%
3) Las Vegas: 26%
4) Chicago: 25%
5) Los Angeles / West Hollywood: 24%
6) Washington, DC: 23%
7) Fort Lauderdale: 17%
8) San Diego: 15%
9) Orlando: 14%
9) Seattle: 14%
11) Boston: 13%
11) Philadelphia: 13%
13) Palm Springs 12%
13) Atlanta: 12%
13) Miami: 12%
16) Dallas: 11%
16) Denver: 11%
16) Phoenix/Tempe/Scottsdale: 11%
19) New Orleans: 10%
20) Napa County, CA: 9%
20) Provincetown, MA: 9%
20) Sonoma County, CA: 9%
23) Portland, OR 8%
23) Baltimore: 8%
23) Tampa/St. Pete: 8%

How does your city rank?

Today, a district court judge ruled that part 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) is unconstitutional.  You can learn more more about the Defense of Marriage Act by following that link, but essentially, it means that my gay marriage in Massachusetts is meaningless most everywhere else including at the federal level and in most states.  Currently this ruling only affects Massachusetts residents.

The law explicitly includes a piece that U.S. states that don't allow gay marriage don't have to recognize gay marriages performed in U.S. states that do.

If this ruling stands, it is significant for a number of reasons and may impact your wedding business:

• Similar lawsuits will follow, opening the door to federal recognition by couples who live in Connecticut, Vermont, and the other places gay marriage is legal.
• You'll see more large receptions in your state hosted by couples who marry where it's legal and return home - the number of couples traveling to legally marry will jump dramatically because it will actually mean something (benefits) on the federal level!
• This should open the door for more states to legalize gay marriage as they see money lost to states where it is.
• Other parts of DOMA that impact the 45 states where gay marriage is illegal are also being challenged.  These states may be forced to recognize gay marriages performed in states where it is.  This means more weddings!
• This ruling will mean more wedding sales for all of us - an annual increase of $9.5 billion when gay marriage is legalized nationally (according to Forbes)

"Thank God for Massachusetts for letting us come here to get married!"

That's what one of my grooms said at a recent gay wedding during his toast to his friends and family.  These guys and all of their guests (about 20 of them) came here from Florida, spending about $20,000 over the course of the weekend. The Massachusetts economy thanks them.

Did you know that according to Forbes magazine, nationwide legalization of gay marriage is projected to boost the overall wedding industry by $9.5 BILLION a year?

In my independent analysis of nearly 200 same-sex weddings, I've noted that 87% of same-sex couples pay for their own wedding.  This data is representative of both gay and lesbian couples, of all ages, from all around the country. 

The main reasons for this:

• when gay marriage first becomes legal in a state, the first same-sex couples to marry will be those who have been together the longest, often older couples who don't have or need support of their parents;
• roughly 50% of Americans don't support gay marriage and therefore many parents won't pay for their kids' gay wedding (and may not even attend);

I spoke with two brides planning their gay wedding last week who already have a venue picked out but not booked.  They called me because they were a little concerned.

So, I went to the venue's website and the first sentence of the first paragraph on the weddings page is, "Toast the Bride and the Groom from the terrace with its view of the surrounding hills."

But can we toast just the brides?
Or can we toast just the grooms?

That's what this lesbian couple called me to find out.  Is this a gay-friendly venue?  They'd have to come out to the venue and ask that question themselves.  What if these two were nervous about calling and asking and coming out?  That's not unusual.  

Is this venue willing to risk losing $30,000 on food and beverage rather than make the photos and language on their website inclusive?   Are you?

Jen and I were in Montreal over the weekend and were talking to the hotel concierge about where to go for brunch.  He suggested one restaurant in particular "if we wanted to spend pink dollars."

I laughed out loud - I hadn't heard that phrase in a few years.  What on earth are pink dollars?

Pink dollars are money spent by gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people to support LGBT-owned businesses.  When I'm planning a gay wedding, my client is spending pink dollars on my business (which is gay-owned)....so to speak...

As a wedding vendor, if you want to work with gay and lesbian couples, it's critical for you to proactively identify LGBT-owned wedding industry businesses in your community.

How do you do it?  ASK!  When you're calling vendors, don't be afraid to ask, "Is this a gay-owned business?" and if the answer is no, follow up with "What is your experience with gay weddings?"

As a gay wedding planner who only works with screened vendors, I've asked those questions hundreds of times....it's awkward at first but you'll get the hang of it!

Your gay wedding clients will want to keep their dollars PINK, as long as it doesn't compromise their overall wedding vision.  

Have you started identifying gay owned businesses in your area?

Gay marriage is official in DC and has been for a few weeks now.  Jobs are expected to be created by the increase in revenue to the Capital. Yes, that's right:  the gay wedding industry is so strong that it can create jobs.  Here's more you should know:

The State of Massachusetts, the City of Philadelphia and the City of West Hollywood are spending their advertising dollars marketing to gays and lesbians.

Last week marked the one year anniversary of gay marriage in Connecticut. Let's look at the numbers according to the Connecticut Department of Public Health: