Local wedding vendors’ group vows to be pro-gay
Katie Monaco thought she had found the perfect setting for her dream wedding when she happened to mention that hers would be a same-sex ceremony. In the next email she got, the venue’s manager told the couple they’d have to go elsewhere.
“It really got to me,” said Monaco, a 28-year-old DeLand resident. “It was hurtful. It’s not something you’d expect when you’re planning a wedding: having someone tell you you’re not welcome.”
Monaco and her partner, Ashlee McCorkle, turned for help to a fledgling nonprofit called The Wedding Alliance. A network of Central Florida wedding planners and vendors, it launched in early
September to promote marriage equality. Businesses that join must pledge to embrace all weddings, regardless of whether the betrothed are gay or straight and whether the wedding is a legal ceremony or simply a celebration of commitment.
“Weddings are supposed to be about love, and we feel everybody should be treated the sameway as they plan for their perfect wedding day,” said Jamie O’Donnell, one of the group’s co-founders and an event planner. “We don’t want anyone to have anxiety over calling a vendor and worrying about being rejected.”
Though Florida still bans same-sex marriage within its borders, a June ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court extended federal benefits to gay couples who join in legal matrimony, regardless of the couples’ homestate. Thatdecision was followed in September by an Internal Revenue Service announcement that it would recognize all same-sex marriages for federal-tax purposes. Those developments have led many in the local gay community to travel out of state for marriage licenses.
“Every day I get another post on my Facebook page about somebody going to Connecticut or Massachusetts or California to get married,” said Orlando city Com- missioner Patty Sheehan, the city’s first openly gay politician and a supporter of The Wedding Alliance.
“The states that recognize same-sex marriage are getting a considerable economic boost. And I think it would be a huge boon to Florida’s tourism industry if our legislators would get with this century.”
The wedding and honeymoonindustries, after all, are big business. If Florida were to join the 14 other states where same-sex marriage is legal, Mikhail Audebert, president of the Metropolitan Business Association of Orlando, figures Orange County alone could see a $40 million boost to its economy. The association — known as the region’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender chamber of commerce — calculates the impact based on the 2010 census, which reported that Orange County had 4,800 LGBT couples living together.
“And that $40 million figure assumes only half of the couples would want to get married,” Audebert said. “For Central Florida as a whole, from Daytona to Tampa, you’re talking about a $154 million economic impact.”
Thesumincludes revenue for hoteliers, caterers, baker- ies, florists, musicians and photographers in addition to wedding venues, dressmakers and tuxedo rentals — a point the chamber uses to lobby statewide politicians for marriage equality.
Recent studies, including one released earlier this month by the Pew Research Center, indicate that support for gay marriage is growing, even among conservatives. Nationwide, half of Americans now say they support gay marriage, while 43 percent are opposed. Still, in the South, the numbers are almost flipped, with opponents remaining in the lead.
At The Wedding Alliance, founders hope to “educate” people on the economic and social benefits of marriage. But the main goal is to create harmony for those who have their ceremonies here, regardless of the event’s legal meaning.
“The big thing about The Wedding Alliance is that it’s not just for the gay and lesbian community. It’s also for the straight community that believes in equality and wants to support that,” said Andrew Springer, another co-founder of the organization.
As executive director of Artful Events, he manages operations at The MEZZ andTheAbbeyindowntown Orlando — two venues near Lake Eola that frequently host gay weddings. “I think the push we have right now, especially with what has happenedat the federal level, comes from bringing everyone together.”
The group’s board of directors is almost equally divided between gay and straight.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer is among the supporters, joining the membership ranks as an “ally.”
“I hope the organization continues to help Central Florida take a leadership role in promoting inclusiveness for everybody, regardless of race, religion and sexual orientation,” said Dyer, who helped promote a domesticpartner registry in the city, giving committed but unmarried couples many of the same rights as married couples.
Katrina Hobbs, a 40-year-old South Florida resident, said she looks forward to the day when other Sunshine State politicians share that view. Hobbs plans to marry her partner in another state next spring, then have a wedding back in Orlando, and she said The Wedding Alliance is taking much of the anxiety out of the process. Hobbs — one of two grand-prize winners of the group’s wedding-package giveaway last month — said it puts her mind at ease to knowall the vendors she’ll deal with accept her orientation.
“Otherwise, you’re just not sure what you might encounter,” she said.
For Monaco, who lost her first choice of venues, The Wedding Alliance put together a list of other places that might fulfill the couple’s wish for a country setting. Then O’Donnell called each venue to ensure there would be no issues. Though Monaco and McCorkle haven’t decided yet on a location — and still don’t know whether they’ll make their union legal or simply have the celebration — they do feel a sense of relief.
“We don’t want anyone else to go through what we did,” Monaco said. “This is supposed to be a happy time.”