PIONEERING ONLINE BOUTIQUE, GAYWEDDINGS.COM, GETS FACELIFT AS MOMENTUM FOR CIVIL UNIONS BUILDS AND NEED FOR GAY-FRIENDLY WEDDING SERVICES INCREASES

WASHINGTON, D.C. – GayWeddings.com today announced the re-launch of its web site, which includes a new storefront with free planning articles, free “Wed Pages” for couples, a gay-friendly vendor directory, consulting services, a community forum, news updates and more. The remodeled site and extension of services solidifies GayWeddings.com top rank at the forefront of the burgeoning same-sex wedding industry.

Forbes.com estimates that if same-sex marriage were to be legalized in the United States today, it would pump $16.8 billion into the wedding industry, while a recent ResearchMarket.com survey projects the total buying power of the Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) community to be $641 billion.

“As the leading online boutique dedicated to providing resources to same-sex couples who seek to affirm their life-long partnerships, GayWeddings.com is poised to change the landscape of the wedding industry through serving the underserved GLBT community,” said company president, Kathryn Hamm. “The tools on our updated site allow us to reach farther, to provide greater service and to truly fulfill the needs of same-sex couples around the world who wish to celebrate their love for one another through ceremony.”

Long-held stereotypes in American culture purport that — straight or gay — men want to play the field and women want to settle down and that members of the GLBT community are not interested in settling down in stable relationships. Shattering these stereotypes, lesbian and gay couples alike have organized commitment ceremonies, sought to have their relationships legally validated where recognition exists, and sued in jurisdictions where rights for same-sex couples do not exist. At GayWeddings.com, approximately 40% of its clients are gay couples, 60% are lesbian couples, and a burgeoning number of clients are friends and family members shopping for specialty wedding gifts.

Straight “Mother of A Bride” and company founder, Gretchen Hamm, embraces the market growth. “I’ve always said that recognizing the partnership rights of same-sex couples is not a matter of ‘if.’ It’s a matter of ‘when.’ We’re excited that the marketplace has begun to catch up with us and we are thrilled to serve so many happy couples. We commend the growing number of jurisdictions that have embraced partnership rights for same-sex couples and look forward to welcoming more states into the fold.”

Currently, five countries and Massachusetts fully recognize same-sex marriage. Meanwhile, 17 countries in addition to Oregon, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Washington, Vermont and the District of Columbia observe civil unions, domestic partnerships or offer other legal recognition of same-sex couples; and, legislation awaits the signature of Gov. John Lynch in New Hampshire.

About GayWeddings.com
While planning a wedding for daughter Kathryn in 1999, Gretchen Hamm was frustrated by the lack of resources available to same-sex couples and thus founded TwoBrides.com and TwoGrooms.com – the first such online boutiques to cater to the GLBT community – that same year. In 2005, the mother-daughter team acquired GayWeddings.com, solidifying its position as the largest resource of its kind. Based in Dallas, Texas and Washington, D.C., GayWeddings.com serves the under-served GLBT community with its community forum, national gay-friendly vendor directory, wedding planning seminars, consultation services, personalized customer service and its online boutiques, which feature hard-to-find gay wedding items including certificates, invitations, cake tops, albums, guest books, personalized accessories and more. Through advocacy, relationship building and education, GayWeddings.com strives to affect change in the wedding marketplace. Visit us at http://www.GayWeddings.com.