[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/how-to-create-inclusive-wedding-contracts\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/how-to-create-inclusive-wedding-contracts\/","headline":"How to create inclusive wedding contracts","name":"How to create inclusive wedding contracts","description":"All too often, wedding pros put a line for the bride\u2019s name and a line for the groom\u2019s name as the clients. But what if there are two brides and no groom? Two grooms and no bride? A person who identifies as a bride and another who doesn\u2019t identify with either term? Two people who just want to get married but aren\u2019t into those labels? ","datePublished":"2018-07-05","dateModified":"2018-07-05","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/kpalladino\/#Person","name":"Kirsten Palladino","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/author\/kpalladino\/","identifier":2,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/76421eab241dc39d43a493849d7bc676e4b1c60c6b1167f727466599b6882eca?s=96&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/76421eab241dc39d43a493849d7bc676e4b1c60c6b1167f727466599b6882eca?s=96&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Equally Wed","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","url":"http:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/equally-wed-lgbtq-weddings-logo.jpg","width":218,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Pink-and-white-Kansas-City-wedding-Equally-Wed-HeyTayLLC-88.jpg","url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/Pink-and-white-Kansas-City-wedding-Equally-Wed-HeyTayLLC-88.jpg","height":667,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/how-to-create-inclusive-wedding-contracts\/","about":["Pro"],"wordCount":940,"keywords":["contracts","Equally Wed Pro","inclusive"],"articleBody":"The wedding industry is rapidly evolving as personalization takes the lead over the shoulds and should nots of wedding d\u00e9cor, attire and programming. How many times are we hearing that couples are \u201cmaking their weddings their own\u201d? Over and over. One way in which couples are heading into their weddings is with the understanding that just as society is progressing in its mindset of inclusivity and diversity, so should the wedding industry. With the advent of marriage equality as a federal reality since June 26, 2015, there\u2019s been an exponential increase of LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer) weddings. (As of June 2017, more than 1 million LGBTQ+ people in the United States are married to someone of the same sex, meaning there have been 547,000 same-sex marriages in the U.S. to date, up from around 491,000 two years ago, according to the Williams Institute for Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy at the University of California.)Photo: Hey Tay LLCLGBTQ+ couples are looking for wedding professionals who sincerely believe in their right to marriage. It\u2019s not enough to just be OK with gays getting married or seeing the potential for increasing your income. We\u2014I\u2019m LGBTQ+ as well\u2014need to see your authenticity in your support for the LGBTQ+ community. One way you can do this is by being inclusive in your language in your wedding contracts. And while it\u2019s important to consider your current and potential LGBTQ+ clients with your written communication, keep in mind that millennials are by and large proponents of marriage equality and LGBTQ+ rights. Your authentic efforts to be diverse and inclusive with your company\u2019s communications speaks volumes to all of your current and potential clients. They\u2019re paying attention to what you do, say and write, and your actions influence them to want to engage with you\u2014or not. Every stage of your interaction with clients has the potential of propelling your relationship forward or for falling apart. One of these stages is reviewing and signing the contract. It’s important to create an inclusive wedding contract that embraces all couples.It\u2019s not enough to just be OK with gays getting married or seeing the potential for increasing your income.All too often, wedding pros put a line for the bride\u2019s name and a line for the groom\u2019s name as the clients. But what if there are two brides and no groom? Two grooms and no bride? A person who identifies as a bride and another who doesn\u2019t identify with either term? Two people who just want to get married but aren\u2019t into those labels, whether they\u2019re too heteronormative (a mindset that heterosexuality is preferred over other sexual orientations, and therefore the standard and considered \u201cnormal\u201d) or too restrictive. Within the LGBTQ+ community exists a spectrum of people whose gender is fluid, who don\u2019t identify entirely as a man or entirely a woman, but rather somewhere in between or with no gender at all. Their pronouns might be them\/them\/theirs if they\u2019re nonbinary, or if they\u2019re genderqueer or gender-nonconforming, they may use she\/hers\/her or he\/him\/his or sometimes, their pronouns fluctuate on the day, depending on how they\u2019re feeling. For LGBTQ+ folks who identify as women or men, keep in mind that they don\u2019t always want to be referred to as a bride or a groom, just like they might not embrace being called a lady or a girl or a fella or a guy. Even people who you assume to be male and therefore identify as a groom or female and therefore identify as a bride might not see themselves that way.Photo: Sonia SavioThe remedy to this bride\/groom, bride\/bride, groom\/groom conundrum is to remove gender all together. Words like CLIENT 1 and CLIENT 2 and PARTNER 1 and PARTNER 2 are straightforward and take nothing away from your hetero clients, yet show so much love and acceptance to your LGBTQ+ clients as well as make a statement to your hetero clients that you\u2019re a good choice for their LGBTQ+ friends. (Referrals are everything.) If you\u2019re feeling like CLIENT 1 and 2 aren\u2019t honoring the celebration enough\u2014or even the commitment-based term of PARTNER 1 and 2, go for more wedding-related terms, such as CELEBRANT or MARRIER.Confused? I hope not. But if it\u2019s your first foray into thinking beyond the bride\/groom everyone\u2019s-straight perspective, I get it. As I mentioned before, the wedding industry\u2014and society\u2014is changing. It\u2019s OK that you\u2019ve done it how you\u2019ve been doing it up until now. But now we all get the opportunity to change along with society, to embrace a larger group of marrying people.Photo: SandrachileWorried about turning your hetero clients off by the neutral language? Don\u2019t be. The thing is, your girlie-girl brides who are gushing about being the blushing brides could not care less about being named as a bride or a client or a celebrant or a marrier or a partner in your contract. But your clients whose very existence is challenged by laws and society every which way they turn notice every time they\u2019re acknowledged, thereby accepted, understood and dare we say celebrated? Which is good because you\u2019re in the business of celebrations. And now you know how to celebrate everyone equally\u2014even in a business contract!Final tip: Don\u2019t forget to use that find and replace. Kick out all the references to bride(s) and groom(s) throughout your wedding contracts and replace them with the inclusive term of your choice."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"How to create inclusive wedding contracts","item":"https:\/\/equallywed.com\/how-to-create-inclusive-wedding-contracts\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]