State's Wedding Vendors Face Broken Engagements  
San Diego Union Tribune
By Penni Crabtree
November 6, 2008

For many California companies in the “I do” business, the passage of Proposition 8 has put the kibosh on more than same-sex marriage.

It's nipped a new source of orange blossom sales right in the bud. Bakers will have to toss that two-grooms wedding cake figurine in the bin. And the honeymoon suite will see a few more vacancies.

Some hotels, caterers, event planners, bakeries, florists and others that offer wedding services said yesterday that they enjoyed a brisk burst of business from same-sex weddings during the four-month window in which such unions were legal in California.

Now Tuesday's ballot vote, which overturns the landmark state Supreme Court ruling in May that legalized same-sex marriage, cuts off a fresh source of revenue at the worst of economic times.

“We are obviously disappointed that California will revert to discrimination against same-sex couples,” said Robert Gleason, chief financial officer for Evans Hotels, a San Diego-based company that owns The Lodge in Torrey Pines, as well as two other resorts that hosted between 20 and 30 same-sex weddings.

“In difficult economic times like these we should be seeking all the business we can,” Gleason said, “and losing this opportunity will obviously be costly to the tourism industry and our economy.”

A study in June projected that gay men and lesbians would spend $684 million on cakes, photographers and other services over the next three years if the state Supreme Court ruling had been allowed to stand.

About half of the state's more than 100,000 same-sex couples were expected to get married during the next three years, and about 68,000 out-of-state couples were expected to travel to California to exchange vows, according to the study by UCLA's Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation Law and Public Policy.

In the wake of the Proposition 8 victory, some California businesses are discontinuing marketing campaigns or revising special packages that were aimed at capturing that market.

Harrah's Rincon Casino and Resort in San Diego was featured in a national ad campaign by Harrah's to attract gay and lesbian customers. The “Marry in San Diego, Honeymoon in Paris” campaign, which offered a wedding package in San Diego and honeymoon package at Harrah's Paris hotel in Las Vegas, is being revised to the more pedestrian “Unite in San Diego, Honeymoon in Paris.”

Sheryl Sebastian, a spokeswoman for Rincon, said the Valley Center resort will continue to offer “commitment” packages for same-sex couples.

“We support equality, and as a company we are disappointed with the outcome of Prop. 8,” Sebastian said. “We will continue to support same-sex marriage, and we are disappointed that we won't be able to offer the wedding aspect of it.”

The San Diego Convention and Visitors Bureau, which markets and promotes San Diego as a tourist destination, will also have to tweek its San Diego Gay to Z Website page, which offered wedding-related suggestions to gay and lesbian couples.

More than 200 couples entered a “Here Comes the Pride” wedding sweepstakes promoted by ConVis, which included airfare, hotel accommodation and a marriage license. The winning couple from Alabama came to San Diego in September to exchange vows.

Sal Giametta, a spokesman for ConVis, said San Diego will remain a “commitment ceremony” destination, but it will “not have the impact we'd have had if Prop. 8 had been overturned.”

“There was an opportunity to provide a little boost to the local economy, and I think that would have continued if Prop. 8 had been defeated,” Giametta said.

Or, in the case of downtown's Hard Rock Hotel, a lot of boost. Last month the hotel, in conjunction with Olivia Cos. a lesbian-owned travel company that provides cruise and resort vacations for lesbians, hosted 100 individual wedding ceremonies and a reception for 200 brides and their families.

“It was fantastic,” said Matt Greene, general manager of the Hard Rock Hotel. “They rented our meeting space, they used our caterers, they spent money in our restaurants, the lounges and all over the Gaslamp.

“Now the money that was spent on those celebrations will dry up, along with the revenue opportunities for the hospitality industry,” Greene said. “Prop. 8 will definitely have a negative impact.”