PHOENIX (KPHO/KTVK) –
Now that same-sex couples can get married, local businesses are looking forward to cashing in on what they expect will be a very big wedding year.
“We are in midtown so we’re right in the thick of things,” said Gwen Singer with Wyndham Garden Midtown said they are ready and waiting for marital mania in the coming year.
“I think 2016 is going to be a very big wedding year,” Singer said.
Experts project same-sex weddings will add $64 million to the local economy over the next two years.
“I’m hoping that some of our new groups are going to have really nice-sized budgets,” Singer said.
“We do have a lot of money in our community,” said Michael McFall with Pride Guide. He said their third-annual expo will be the biggest one yet.
“We’ve seen probably a 20 percent increase in businesses wanting to advertise,” McFall said. “Usually we have to outreach and go toward them and they’re calling us.”
McFall said he has even started offering a course to businesses on how to make their wedding packages more inclusive.
“Bridal suites are now called honeymoon suites, bridal shows should be called wedding expos,” McFall said.
Their attendance for the August expo is set to double with as many as 4,000 attendees and the vendor space is already sold out.
“We’re changing the industry,” he said.
Copyright 2015 KPHO/KTVK (KPHO Broadcasting Corporation). All rights reserved.
