NY event planners brace for gay boom
Source: Agencies |
August 2, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW York City's event planners are gearing up for a surge in business after the Empire State embraced same-sex marriage and hundreds of couples rush to tie the knot.
In New York City alone, 800 couples were married hours after New York became the sixth US state to legalize same-sex unions on July 24.
"We've been getting a lot of phone calls," said Harriette Rose Katz, a New York City events planner. "I think we're going to get more and more and more out of this. I honestly think it will be a big surge for our business."
Among the New York same-sex wedding events that Katz is planning is the marriage of Bill White, the former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, and commercial insurance broker Bryan Eure, on September 25 with a roster of high-profile guests including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barbara Walters.
In another sign of changing times, Katz is also planning the first bar mitzvah of the child of same-sex parents.
Bentley Meeker, a lighting specialist who most recently did the wedding event of New York City mayoral aides John Feinblatt and Jonathan Mintz, which was presided over by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also said he expects a swell in his business.
"It's too early to quantify ... but I think we're going to see a hump, where a lot of people are going to get handled quickly," he said. "Then it will settle into normalcy, and will become a complete part of the fabric of the wedding industry."
But in the meantime, he expects increased demand for his services.
In New York City alone, 800 couples were married hours after New York became the sixth US state to legalize same-sex unions on July 24.
"We've been getting a lot of phone calls," said Harriette Rose Katz, a New York City events planner. "I think we're going to get more and more and more out of this. I honestly think it will be a big surge for our business."
Among the New York same-sex wedding events that Katz is planning is the marriage of Bill White, the former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York, and commercial insurance broker Bryan Eure, on September 25 with a roster of high-profile guests including Bill and Hillary Clinton and Barbara Walters.
In another sign of changing times, Katz is also planning the first bar mitzvah of the child of same-sex parents.
Bentley Meeker, a lighting specialist who most recently did the wedding event of New York City mayoral aides John Feinblatt and Jonathan Mintz, which was presided over by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, also said he expects a swell in his business.
"It's too early to quantify ... but I think we're going to see a hump, where a lot of people are going to get handled quickly," he said. "Then it will settle into normalcy, and will become a complete part of the fabric of the wedding industry."
But in the meantime, he expects increased demand for his services.
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