Ok, so let’s talk wedding biz.
I’ll be honest, the wedding industry is a bit new to me. I’ve always been a planner and have always wanted a front seat in wedding duties for my friends. But the all encompassing vendor side of wedding was, somewhat unfamiliar.
I immediately started noticing that everything was based on the ‘traditional’ model of Bride and Groom. Male and Female. everything from wedding contracts to decorations had single running thread through it, he and she.
The verbiage that surrounds weddings is inherently heteronormative. We’ve recently grown to add ‘Bride and Bride’ or Groom and Groom’ and I guess thats a small step forward. But what about all of our other clients? Have you ever stopped to ask someone you are working with what their preferred pronouns are? Or have you considered how hurtful it might be to see a ‘Mr. and Mrs.’ sign in the venue?
Most of us havnt’t stopped to consider that the language we use everyday, but especially surrounding something as important as a wedding, is integral. We need to be moving towards inclusive verbiage, and to be having identity positive conversations with our clients.
The LGBTQ+ community is not a niche market to be cornered or thought of as a separate entity from our ‘traditional’ wedding industry. Love is love in all its unique facets, and we, as photographers, planners, florists and guests are all here to celebrate just that, LOVE.
JV & Joey
They/Them & He/Him
Styled shoot January ‘19
Florals - Folie a Deux Events
