Now that Pennsylvania has joined the realm of marriage equality, there are likely many local grooms and brides in the throes of wedding planning — an effort that can be facilitated by a new LGBT-focused wedding expo next month.
Two Tux Weddings will stage the Exclusive LGBT Wedding Expo from 1-4 p.m. Sept. 14 at M Restaurant at the Morris House Hotel, 231 S. Eighth St. The free event will bring together vendors from across the wedding industry for couples planning more upscale events, and will also offer educational opportunities.
The event is the brainchild of Two Tux Weddings cofounder Don Woodring.
The Philadelphia resident is the former CEO of a public company who at one time had about 8,000 domain names under his belt, a number that now stands at about 1,000.
He launched TwoTuxWeddings.com this past spring with immigration attorney James Pittman.
Woodring was previously married to a woman and had several children, but came out four years ago. He said one of the factors that kept him in the closet was the seeming incompatibility of LGBT life with the trajectory of his own life.
“The vast majority of my life I lived as a straight guy, even though I wasn’t straight. But, as a young man, I always wanted to be an athlete and a dad and, professionally, I was a country manager at 29 and CEO at 39,” he said. “But when I looked at [gay] role models, I felt like there weren’t role models I could look up to, unless I wanted to be a drag queen or flamboyant. So one of the things I wanted to do with this site was to create a nice wedding site geared toward the LGBT community, but not flying the rainbow flag high and mighty over it — just a nice, subtle, professional site.”
The site showcases local LGBT-friendly wedding resources — from jewelers to photographers to caterers — and connects site users to legal professionals and financial advisers and offers a blog that tracks news about the marriage-equality movement.
Woodring said the expo will mirror the professional approach to wedding planning he took with the site.
“It’ll be for typically professional, for the most part, gay folks who want to throw an event to celebrate their love,” he said. “We want to provide a place where they go and identify businesses that support our community.”
He expects about two-dozen vendors to participate.
Upscale custom-suit designer Henry Davidson will be on hand, as will Black Tie Formal Affair, both of which also offered tailored suits for females, Woodring noted. Black Tie will have two models at the expo to demonstrate their wares. Philadelphia Bridal Company is also exhibiting for brides looking for a gown. Beautiful Blooms will have a table to showcase their floral work, while EBE Lighting will offer information about its lighting services. On the musical side, there will be harp players and string quartets who play weddings, and guests can have their photos taken at an onsite photo booth.
Local attorney Angela Giampolo will speak about the marriage-equality movement. Woodring said the company is planning to launch a similar expo in Arizona, where a noted out state judge will serve as the guest speaker.
The web business is also going to be expanding; Woodring expects to launch TwoGowns.com, catering to women planning two-bride events, this fall.
He’s also spearheading the Gay I Do Foundation, which will work to bring marriage equality nationwide. The initiative allows LGBT-friendly vendors to display Gay I Do placards at their businesses, and donate a portion of sales from same-sex couples to the foundation. Donations for the effort can be made at the expo.
Woodring said he’s eager to take an active role in this historic time in the marriage-equality movement.
“This is a brand-new market. When you look at a lot of same-sex couples, most do not have children so there’s more disposable income, we love to party and now, at last, we’re able to officially and legally celebrate our love together. We want to help be a part of that. It gives us so much joy to be a part of other same-sex couples celebrating their love. Finally, society is embracing our ability to love each other, get married and be no different than anybody else. As time goes on, people are starting to not only accept us, but embrace us, and we’re just thrilled to be a part of that process. This freight train has left the station and there’s just no stopping it.”
For more information, visit www.twotuxweddings.com.
