When it comes to inclusivity in your wedding business, are you asking yourself how being inclusive in your business will help others, help you and why does it matter?

What does Inclusive mean?

Quite simply it means not to exclude any section of society.

I have had many people comment on posts, about being more inclusive in their wedding business, asking why should they change their language and marketing? When they serve everyone, so therefore they are inclusive. In a perfect world that would be amazing, if everyone did just serve everyone, no matter who they were or what they identify as. But we don’t live in a perfect world, far from it. Many LGBTQIA+, disabled and people of colour still face judgement, hate, discrimination, racism and homophobia every day. So we need to step up and do more.

bride-and-bride-beach
Photographer: Cheryl Anne Photography

Wedding Fayres

I have been to many a wedding show exhibiting my services and the last one I did, I found only two of us had a rainbow flag on our stall to show we were safe for the LGBTQIA+ community. Any marketing materials were of white cis-gendered straight and able-bodied couples getting married, where are other couples going to feel seen?

“Bride” stickers were being handed out, why do the partners not get a sticker? Do grooms not have a say? What if there are two brides or two grooms? What stickers do they get? They had a couple come in and they said they were both getting married the person handing out the stickers didn’t know what to say so they were left with the awkwardness. How is that supposed to make them feel? This day was supposed to be exciting for them and they hadn’t even stepped through the door and they’ve already been made to feel awkward.

Someone had parked their van at the end of the row blocking two disabled spaces so the cars couldn’t get in or out of the space. It may not seem like a big deal to some, but trying to get in and out of an event as a disabled person whether the disability is seen or invisible can be incredibly difficult and full of anxiety and overwhelm for the person and again that was before they had even got into the event. That’s without having to worry about accessing the venue, the toilets or around the venue.

inclusive-wedding-fayre

How to be more inclusive at a Wedding Fayre

So when you are next getting ready to exhibit at a Wedding Fayre, think to yourself is the Wedding Fayre itself an inclusive one? Can disabled couples get around the venue safely, do they have things in place like ramps if needed, doorways clear and disabled toilets clear and alarms chords hung to the floor? If not is this stated when booking?

My favourite is The Quirky Wedding Fayre as they are constantly evolving with their Fayres and Magazine to be more diverse and inclusive for couples.

How can you make your stall inclusive?

This is just one of the ways we can step up and be more inclusive in our businesses.

Diverse-couple
Photographer: Big Fish Photography

How to be more inclusive across your platforms

We can make changes in our everyday language, on our website, social media and any marketing we do. Never assume you are talking to a cis gendered couple. A wedding business I know recently assumed she was chatting on the phone with a male Groom, but she was a trans woman. Cue one very embarrassed wedding business. Don’t be afraid of making a mistake and changing nothing. If you make a mistake and we all do, we are only human, apologise, use the right term and then carry on.

Website

disabled-wedding
Photographer: Day and Knight Photography

Socials

If you don’t have any pictures to use, this is a perfect opportunity to do a styled shoot, but don’t just see this as a box ticking exercise it is not just about using a disabled, couple of colour or LGBTQIA+ couple. They need to be real couples and a diverse team behind the camera also.

Contracts

LGBTQ-inclusive-ebook

How can we do more?

I see it a lot in the industry and most of the time it is never meant to exclude anybody, but I will question suppliers who come to me wanting to be on my ‘list’. I will ask if they are inclusive, as there website doesn’t show it and I will help them with ways to change it. Start having the discussion with people around you about how you can be more inclusive in your businesses.

Start questioning people that say uneducated things like one i’ve had before “Is it a normal wedding you know between a man and a woman?” You don’t need to be confrontational but start educating people and the world might just start to be a better and safer place for couples in the wedding industry, which is full of love and kind and very caring suppliers.

Thank you for Reading

x Jodie x

You can download my Ebook here

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