“Planning a wedding is stressful enough then you have the added the stress of coming out to professional vendors,” he said.
“This was a way to vet vendors, and it is a safe place for the out community.”
The event is free and open to the public and includes a fashion show, a proclamation by Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley and a 12:45 p.m. performance by the Rubi Girls drag troupe. A donation will be made to Why Marriage Matters Ohio, an organization that supports marriage equality in Ohio.
Outlook is planning an LGBT wedding guide and will hold wedding expos in Ohio’s other major cities — Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo — in the next few months.
Gay marriage is controversial in many minds, but Hayes said it’s “pretty easy” to find vendors willing to offer services to same-sex couples.
“There are a lot of great vendors that are out there and understand the economic impact this will have for the state,” he said.
The District of Columbia and 37 states allow same-sex couples to marry.
Ohio is not one of those states.
Hayes said when that changes, Ohio will benefit by the swell of same-sex couples who rush to the alter. He pointed to one estimation that same-sex marriage will create 930 job and add $120 million to the state’s economy in the first three years.
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