Are you a wedding professional who’s inclusive of LGBTQ+ couples?
If you’re in the wedding industry and consider yourself and your business to be welcoming to all couples, there are some initial steps we must take to show our love and support.
What steps are you taking to ensure clients feel truly safe and welcome?
I’m happy to introduce you to Michelle Lane today. She’s a recent newly wed and in this conversation she shares what it was like to plan her wedding and some of the vendor missteps she experienced along the way. Michelle has had a long career as a singer, actor and dancer, and now, she teaches, too! When she lost her creative outlet during the pandemic, she turned to flowers and is now part of my floralpreneur community!
We sat down today to talk about how the wedding industry can be more inclusive of LGBTQ+ couples when planning a wedding and I hope you will enjoy the conversation and take some small steps today to be even more welcoming and celebrate all people.
Click to watch:
Some of the things we talked about include:
- Assumptions-We have to stop making them!
- Pronouns-We have to share them and ask for them!
- Fix your Contact Forms if you have gendered language that’s not inclusive.
- Clients look at your website and ask, “Am I represented?”
- If you’re not considering LGBTQ+ couples in your marketing, clients won’t feel safe & welcome.
When wedding vendors prioritize inclusivity and diversity, we begin to align our beliefs with our business practices to help create a more equitable world.
Thank you for tuning into our Inclusion Conversation today. Let’s keep the conversation going and keep striving to create safe and welcoming event spaces for all people!
xo. -Alison
A couple of links:
In this conversation Alison mentioned the Wedding and Event Vendor Alliance (WEVAVT.org). WEVA helps wedding professionals become better allies by creating safe, inclusive and anti-racist event spaces through self-education and community development. We are always welcoming new members. Learn more about joining WEVA as an ally here!
Michelle mentioned in our initial conversation that she had a hard time finding templates for LGBTQ+ wedding invitations and I asked if she heard about Dash of Pride. Dash of Pride believes that wedding planning should be fun, which is why they provide easy, judgement-free shopping so you can celebrate your love, your way. Click Here to see the products available at dashofpride.com
- Note: I had the opportunity to meet Jenna Szyluk, owner of Dash of Pride, along with my colleague, Maricela Ehmann, for a discussion during Pride Month which you can find HERE.
