Wedding industry gives same-sex marriages a mixed reception

More than 15,000 same-sex marriages have taken place in England and Wales since it became legal to do so, but the wedding industry still has far to go in catering for them, say experts.

There were 7,366 ceremonies for couples not already in a civil partnership, and 7,732 who converted their existing civil partnership into marriage, according to the Office of National Statistics. Yet as the business around same-sex marriage grows, there was criticism that the wedding industry as a whole has been slow to respond to this lucrative market.

“It is still waking up. There is a long way to go,” said Gino Meriano, founder of gayweddingshow.co.uk, which organised six gay wedding fairs across the UK last year. “If two women go into a bridal shop, do not assume one is the bride and one is the chief bridesmaid. Which happens. A lot,” he added.

Since the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act was introduced on 29 March 2014, with the first ceremonies taking place moments after midnight, 15,098 same-sex couples legally married during the period up to 30 June 2015, with 55% of ceremonies being between women, and 45% between men.

The number of civil partnerships fell by 70%, from 5,646 in 2013 to 1,683 in 2014. In December 2014, just 58 civil partnerships were carried out.

Laura Metayer, who founded Mrs & Mrs Products, specialising in same-sex wedding cards, invitations, personalised gifts and cake toppers, started her website four years ago when she and her partner had a civil partnership “because we couldn’t find any products ourselves”.

Today, business is booming, she said. “We specialise in things specifically for same-sex marriages. One of our new products is congratulations cards that say “to our daughter and daughter-in-law” or “son and son-in-law”. Even “sister and sister-in-law”. We have had some card companies make them up specially for us and they have sold really well. Especially to parents, as they like to get something special for their children,” she said.

“This has been our best year. Most of our business comes from guests rather then the couple themselves.

“We have done gay wedding fairs and have contacts with a lot of other people in the industry, and I think it has definitely increased.”

Gay wedding planner Petra Truneckova, who has published a guide to same-sex weddings, said: “The market is getting bigger and bigger. It’s virgin territory and I think we are creating a gay wedding etiquette right now.

“I love the creativity. There is much more flexibility. You can have the grooms entering the room together. You can have so many different options, which is what I like. And the magic is you have room to create.”

She is now expanding her business to promote destination weddings for gay couples. “Especially gay men. They tend to have a bigger budget, and are travelling more, and generally don’t have children, and are bigger spenders than straight couples,” she said.

“The market, generally, all around the world, is increasing a lot. It is a millionaire industry now,” she added. “I wouldn’t be opening my markets and expanding if that was not the case.”

But, she cautioned, the wedding industry still discriminated against same-sex couples by often using terms such as “bridal suite”, “bridal car”, “bridal favours” and “bridal party” in their literature. The terminology needed to be updated, said Truneckova, founder of Bellus Events.

“Many venues are still using these terms, and then the two grooms get really upset. I get that constantly. Wording is really important,” she added, saying she always checked such details before forwarding on to her clients.

The ONS figures showed the number of same-sex marriages peaked at 844 in the month of August last year. “Historically the most popular time for marriages to take place is during the summer months, with ceremonies being less popular in winter, “ the ONS said. “Marriages of same-sex couples are following this seasonal pattern.”

The majority of those who wed a partner of the same gender had never been married or in a civil partnership before. Just over 14% of women and 8% of men had been divorced. The ONS said: “The majority, if not all of these previous marriages, will have been with a partner of the opposite sex.”

According to a survey by marketing and research company Out Now Consulting, a total of 868,000 gay men and lesbians in the UK are expected to marry over the next 15 years. Taking an average of £20,983 per ceremony, “that implies the UK gay and lesbian weddings market to be worth £18.2bn during the next 15 years”, CEO Ian Johnson said.

Meriano, whose company produces Pink Weddings magazine, distributed at the gay wedding fairs he arranges, said the indications were that there would not be a dramatic rise in the number of same-sex weddings. The market was worth an estimated £570m between 2005 and 2013, before the legalisation of same-sex marriage, and an estimated £62m in 2013, he said.

“The wedding industry is five or six years behind,” he added. “Many of those who exhibit at the gay wedding fairs do not have products specific to same-sex weddings. It’s got to wake up,” he added.