Same-sex wedding expo points to growing industry

Thursday, April 21, 2011 | Source: Metromode

Pride Source Media Group and Detroit Marriott Livonia are getting ready to co-host "To Have and to Hold: A wedding expo for same-sex couples" next month, an event sparked by a little bit of bigotry.

The hotel first broached the idea of the event to Pride Source Media Group, publisher of Michigan's premier gay newspaper, after it received two inquiries in a month from same-sex couples. The couples had lost confirmed bookings at their original venue when managers discovered their sexual orientation. That's when the two groups decided to bring the growing market of gay marriages out of the closet.

"It's a huge market," says Jan Stevenson, co-publisher of Between The Lines and co-owner of Pride Source Media Group. "There is a very large gay population in Michigan that numbers in the hundreds of thousands."

Stevenson points out that about 1,000 same-sex couples make their wedding vows in Michigan annually. At an average cost of $20,000 per wedding, who wouldn't want a part of that market regardless of the state's regressive laws banning gay marriage.

Stevens says that a number of local businesses already depend on same-sex customers, such as Ann Arbor-based jewelers Abracadabra. He claims that thirty percent of that company's business comes from gay customers.

"Even though it's not legal we're going to do it anyway," Stevenson says. "People will go to where it is legal, like Canada, and come back for the reception."

The expo will feature 40 vendors, including caterers, jewelers, salons, photographers, officiants, churches, florists, gift registries, clothiers, printers, travel agents and entertainers. It take place between 3-8 p.m. on May 1. Admission is $10, with a $2 discount for those who register in advance online.

Source: Jan Stevenson, co-publisher of Between The Lines and co-owner of Pride Source Media Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

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