"I kind of hate the term gay wedding," says Brittny Drye, founder and editor-in-chief of Love Inc., a new online wedding magazine that plans to fully integrate straight and same-sex wedding details and plans. Launched last week, it aims to break with labels and celebrate love, full stop. "For so long there's been a lot of LGBT wedding sites, which is amazing, but our society is ready for it not to be a gay wedding. I think people are ready for it to just to be called a wedding."
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Drye is not new to the peonies, taffeta, and lace rodeo: She's worked for the likes of The Frisky, Modern Luxury, Elle Decor, and The Knot, and it's that experience that allows her to wear the many hats that her latest project require her to put on: marketing, advertising, business, as well as editorial.
"I'm writing, but I have two business partners who make my words look really good," she confesses. And those words, are intentionally gender-neutral. A simple scroll through other popular wedding sites reveals an industry that is obviously bride-centric, where even verbiage for vendor contracts lean towards straight-sex couples.
"The biggest problem for same-sex couples is they have to come out to every vendor," Drye explains. "Wedding planning should be stressful and crazy but it should not consist of judgment and having to worry about what someone thinks of you being you."
Other websites and blogs--such as Equally Wed, Offbreat Bride, and A Practical Wedding, have provided resources for independent-thinking people for years. According to Drye, Love Inc. will add to that conversation, and she aims to cover marital subjects equally: one-part gay men, one-part lesbian, and one-part straight. Topics are sure to deviate from the oft-covered set, and include unorthodox tutorials such as "How do two brides both make a big entrance?" and "Suits for a bride," as well as a variety of groom-centric content, from tuxedos to hairstyles. There's also a wedding inspiration section arranged by color or theme. This comes in addition to the publication's commitment to only work with vendors who are open to all couples and those that do not discriminating on sexual preference.
Drye also plans to hold educational workshops for vendors. She held her first quasi-workshop as a Twitter-chat with Bernadette Coveney Smith of 14 Stories and Jason Mitchell, a new wedding planner dedicated to gay grooms and the author of author of Getting Groomed(out in November). "I do tons of workshops myself," Coveney Smith says, who has been planning weddings for 10 years with 14 Stories, and calls Love Inc.'s mission admirable. "Outside of the major metropolitan areas, vendors don't know a thing about same-sex marriage," she continues, "and that's why I spend so much of my time educating on it."
Mitchell agrees, echoing a sentiment of the magazine's founder: "The wedding industry still mainly caters to brides. What I look forward to with Love Inc. is the removal of the label. I think there's a big audience out there who will be interested in learning more about simply beautiful, creative, and thought-provoking weddings, whether they are same-sex or opposite sex."
