> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Businesses say ‘I Do’ to gay marriage - URL: https://www.smdp.com/businesses-say-i-do-to-gay-marriage/ - Published: 2008-07-02T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T20:01:40.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Business, Downtown, #archive-import *Study shows that court decision could boost economy* *By ALICE OLLSTEIN Special to the Daily Press* DOWNTOWN After decades of discrimination and legal hurdles, same-gender couples can finally wed, and the local economy is set to reap the benefits. While many couples are rushing straight to the courthouse for a quick, civil ceremony, the surge of business for wedding planners, hotels, photographers, dressmakers and florists could bring much-needed relief to the slumping California market. And since California, unlike Massachusetts, will marry out-of-state couples, the tourism industry is also expected see a summer spike. A new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law says that direct spending by same-sex couples will add $684 million to the state’s wedding industry and $64 million to the state budget over the next three years, and create as many as 2,200 additional jobs. The study estimates that over the next three years, gay weddings will also generate $9 million in marriage-license fees for counties. It also noted that the majority of gays also represent the most sought-after consumer demographic — “DINKS” or “dual income no kids.” Loyola Marymount University assistant professor of Economics Jennifer Offenberg believes that gay marriage will have a “very positive effect” on the economy. “There has been a back-log of people waiting to be married, which accounts for the sudden flux,” she explained. “It’s a good spike in the economy that is actually sustainable for a long period of time. There will be a greater number of events, causing a ‘wedding trickle-down’ of locations, catering, music and hotels.” Local Santa Monica businesses agree, and while some have already felt the impact of the Supreme Court decision, others are still looking for a way to tap into the new gay marriage market. Leonora Di Mauro, the president of the Santa Monica-based company Italy in Style, which helps same-sex couples plan weddings in Tuscany and Milan, has had calls come pouring in. Though the company has catered to European gay couples for years, this is the first time that they’ve worked with U.S. clients. Because gay marriage is illegal in Italy, the organization’s services include a symbolic ceremony, often using an actor to play a priest. Now, for the first time, this will be matched with a legally binding ceremony back in California. “We’ve started getting calls. We’ve started getting requests. And I’ve personally talked to colleagues \[in the wedding business\] who’ve seen an incredible increase in requests,” Di Mauro said. “For me, it’s a way of opening up to the market. Before, Italy was not really seen as a destination for gays, since it’s still considered conservative. But we have several venues and suppliers that are gay-owned or gay-friendly.” Some Santa Monica businesses, such as online wedding planning site Viddia, have had to make adjustments to better serve the gay community. “When we first built the site, you could only register as a man with a woman,” explained Viddia president Michael Ripberger. “Just last week we modified our site to register same sex marriages, groom with groom or bride with bride.” The decision, said Ripberger, was a difficult one. “We had to think twice about it because we’re a national business. We have users and vendors throughout the country, and I know from dealing with them on a day to day basis that their religious views are very conservative,” Ripberger said. “They’re into the whole sanctity of marriage thing. We were hesitant to alienate any customers, who might think we’d turned our Web site into a Sodom and Gomorrah free-for-all, but we decided it would be a worthwhile market and something that needs to be done.” Ripberger’s future plans include pushing for formal marketing campaigns in the gay community. He feels that gay marriage will have “an immediate impact” on the Santa Monica economy. In her own effort to get into the same-sex marriage business, The Rev. Janet Gollery McKeithen sent out a press release announcing that the Church in Ocean Park in Santa Monica, California is offering wedding services to any couple wishing to marry. McKeithern, a United Methodist Minister who will face discipline from her church for performing the ceremonies, will hold a group wedding service for gay couples on July 6. “It’s a moral, ethical and religious issue for me,” she said. “We shouldn’t be treating people differently.” Not only private businesses, but the city of Los Angeles itself, rated as one of the top 10 gay destinations in the United States by the Travel Industry Association, has been marketing itself to gay couples contemplating marriage. The Los Angeles tourist Web site now proudly declares: “With all its sights and attractions — and a heritage of tolerance — gay-friendly Los Angeles will soon be the perfect gay and lesbian wedding destination.” Many Santa Monica businesses, however, are as of yet unaffected by the decision, and report no increase in wedding orders. Jolene Reynolds of Delarobbia Flower Mart speculates that that wedding businesses will see more action toward the end of the summer. “People are just running off to the courthouse right now and doing the justice of the peace thing,” she said.“Later we’ll have more big ceremonies.” UCLA law student Lisa Concoff Kronbeck had a symbolic wedding ceremony on June 24 last year, and was able to have another, legal ceremony for her one year anniversary on this past June 24\. She speculates that those running to the courthouse for a civil ceremony have, like her, already had wedding ceremonies and are now simple “making it official.” “The real money will start coming in after the rush of people who’ve been waiting 10, 15, 20 years to get married,” she said. “Then you’ll see people planning weddings.” She also noticed a shift in the business sector, with more and more catering to the gay market. “I’ve seen a lot of \[gay-friendly\] advertising lately,” she said. “People are really jumping on the train. And I have the feeling that \[same-sex couples\] will go for businesses that are advertising specifically for gay couples. It’s a huge industry.” Some areas, however, have yet to catch on. “When we told the flower shop we had two brides, she thought it was a double wedding,” laughed Concoff. “Certain areas haven’t gotten used to people being out and not hiding.” The UCLA study estimates that half of California’s 102,639 same-sex couples will marry over the next three years and another 68,000 will come from out-of-state. Whether or not the Westside accepts these marriages as moral or sanctified, the business possibilities of these thousands of weddings will be impossible to ignore. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/070208-02_02.jpg) ICE HUGE SUPPLY: Agents with the U.S. (Photo: Photo courtesy) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 2, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070208.pdf?ref=smdp.com)