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Think pink
With gay couples across Scotland being granted the right to ‘marry' later this year, licensed wedding venues and catering services are presented with excellent opportunities for extending their client base.
Laura McCaffrey explains how to make the most of the pink pound...
The first gay weddings can take place from 21 December and venues which hold civil wedding licences may be used for gay civil partnership ceremonies, as long as a registrar agrees to conduct the ceremony. A few are refusing to allow couples to do any more than sign the register at the registry office but even if this is the case, couples will want to hold a celebration afterwards at a gay-friendly venue.
This provides venues and wedding companies with the chance to increase revenue over the winter, traditionally a quiet time for weddings. There are estimates that 10,000 couples will hold civil partnership ceremonies in the first year and 6,000 in the second year. By registering a civil partnership, gay men and lesbians will have all the rights and responsibilities of heterosexual married couples.
The potential for the catering industry to attract this new market is also enormous. Last year the average amount spent on a wedding was £16,000. Many gay couples fall into the ‘double-income, no-kids' category, and as a result have more disposable funds than straight couples.
You will also need to walk through the day's events, making sure that you have checked with the couple how they would like to proceed. Do women want to be ‘given away' by their fathers? Will there be a best man? Who will give the speeches?
Rather than using bride and groom, the Master of Ceremonies should refer to people's first names, or the ‘happy couple'.
‘We want to have a big party with all our friends and family,' says Donna McCloud, who is currently looking for her own venue. ‘It is such great news that we can celebrate our love publicly and be recognised in law.'
www.gay-friendly-wedding-venues.com
*This has been edited from the original version printed in Catering in Scotland magazine. To see the complete article, contact alex@cateringinscotland.com to obtain a copy or click on Media Pack to subscribe.
