The National Gay Wedding Association (NGWA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit professional organization, was founded in 2019 by Ric Simmons after he experienced bigotry and discrimination in Texas while planning his wedding.
In 2015, when same-sex marriage became the law of the land, the wedding industry was not prepared. LGBTQ+ weddings do not necessarily follow established traditions, and wedding planners were caught unaware. Very few wedding vendors across this country rose to the occasion to service LGBTQ+ couples. Still today, only five percent of wedding professionals openly advertise that they do not discriminate against LGBTQ+ couples.
Ric and his husband Richard were married to women before coming out, and both have adult children. At their kids’ and friends’ insistence, they decided to plan a small, intimate wedding.
The day after Ric’s husband Richard proposed, Ric recalls receiving a text from his daughter expressing her love and support.
A romantic at heart, Ric’s mind exploded with ideas for their wedding. Sipping on his morning coffee, he opened his laptop to start planning a wedding! Visiting some popular wedding sites, Ric discovered rainbows on some wedding vendor’s ads in his area of Texas and sent off email inquiries. It didn’t take long for the responses to start to roll in.
“We don’t do gay wedding cakes,” wrote one vendor.
“Get a life, fa%#t!” replied another.
He quickly found himself paralyzed by tears, anger, and frustration.
He was stunned.
The Supreme Court made same-sex marriage the law of the land, but obviously, not all wedding vendors were ready or willing to accommodate the changes.
Ric’s shock and frustration manifested into simmering anger. Once the anger took hold, he knew he needed to channel its energy into making positive changes, or it would destroy him. He turned his anger into passion and fully committed himself to a mission: to change how the wedding planning industry thinks about working with LGBTQ+ couples. In an industry that should be the personification of love, no one should encounter bigotry and hate.
NGWA believes the majority of wedding professionals do not intend to harm LGBTQ+ couples. In some cases, it’s as simple as not understanding or being unknowingly insensitive. An often-repeated phrase describes it perfectly: “we don’t know what we don’t know.”
As Ric pondered what should happen, he discovered few places where wedding professionals could receive education, support, and training to help them be informed advocates for LGBTQ+ couples. And until places like that were easily accessible, there was no way for wedding professionals to learn what they didn’t know. Certainly, it was impossible to do or be better to accommodate and embrace LBGTQ+ couples without that knowledge.
In 2015, Ric debuted www.MyTexasGayWedding.com to help Texas-based LGBTQ+ couples find wedding vendors who welcomed (or included) LGBTQ+ couples. These vendors are identified as “inclusive.” The idea quickly caught fire, and soon the mission expanded to a national audience with www.MyGayWedding.com.
These early ventures helped Ric hone in on what the industry lacked and clarified his vision.
In 2019, The National Gay Wedding Association (NGWA), www.NationalGayWeddingAssociation.org, was created to support, educate and develop advocates for LGBTQ+ couples within the wedding industry. With a focus on education, networking, and training, Ric made a safe place for wedding professionals to find knowledge and support to create successful inclusive wedding practices focused on LGBTQ+ couples.
NGWA is committed to creating inclusive awareness through supporting partnerships, offering continuing education, and activating as an advocate for LGBTQ+ couples.
NGWA seeks like-minded wedding professionals to join the movement of change both in the United States and abroad. NGWA welcomes professionals at any level of experience and knowledge about LGBRQ+ couples. This is a fact: 95% of LGBTQ+ couples want to know a vendor will accept them before making contact.
The Inclusive Awareness Conference: Share-the-Love
The NGWA is proud to announce its inaugural Inclusive Awareness Conference: Share-the-Love at the Hyatt Indian Wells Resort & Spa in Indian Wells, California, from January 4-6, 2022.
For the first time, like-minded wedding professionals will come together for support and education with the shared mission of becoming better advocates for LGBTQ+ couples. At the conference, wedding vendors will learn from industry-inclusive influencers and world-renowned LGBTQ+ advocates.
NGWA has lined up three internationally acclaimed individuals to be keynote speakers at the event.
- Chasten Buttigieg: American teacher, writer, LGBTQ rights advocate, and husband of the current U.S. Secretary of Transportation, Pete Buttigieg.
- Sara Cunningham: author, activist, and founder of the non-profit organization Free Mom Hugs.
- Brian Green: award-winning event planner specializing in custom wedding planning and event planning services in the metro Atlanta area and beyond.
The message of this conference will be heard ’round the world, with 200 in-person guests and 1,000 virtual attendees from the U.S. and abroad.
Upon completion of the conference, all attendees will be certified by the NGWA as Inclusive Wedding Professionals. NGWA members who participate will be elevated to NGWA Platinum Status.
Like-minded wedding professionals are encouraged to apply for NGWA membership. Members receive exclusive benefits and discounts to help their businesses grow. NGWA members are automatically eligible to participate in NGWA local chapter events and socials.
With NGWA’s help, wedding vendors will set the best practices standards for LGBTQ+ couples and will attract LGBTQ+ couples locally and from around the world.
We are delighted to announce our support and participation as a Media Sponsor for the Inclusive Awareness Conference in January 2022. Style Me Pretty team members will be in attendance to cover the conference, host a breakfast event, participate in a speaker panel, and most importantly, learn as much as we can from the incredible speakers and attendees.
If 2020 taught us one thing in regards to the importance of amplifying underrepresented voices, it’s that simply being an ally is not enough. We must do our part to change the narrative by using our voices to educate and taking action to learn. Thank you to Ric, Cathy, and the entire NGWA for allowing us to learn how we can grow as an inclusive wedding planning destination for ALL couples in love. See you in January!
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