Building an inclusive website is about so much more than copywriting and your images. At the end of the day, it comes down to building a business that is welcoming and celebratory of the LGBTQ+ community

The wedding industry can be a really tough and confusing place for LGBTQ+ couples to navigate. So, it’s important that you offer a space that is welcoming, affirming, and celebratory of your potential LGBTQ+ clients. Thankfully, there’s a lot you can do to make people feel more welcomed, even as soon as they get to your website! 

If you’re a queer couple looking for the perfect wedding vendor but having a hard time finding the right fit, reach out and I’ll do my best to connect you with an LGBTQ+ friendly vendor. 

If you’re a wedding business owner and looking for some tips on how to make your website more inclusive for LGBTQ+ clients, here are some of my favorite tips that you can start implementing today. 

First, listen to actual queer voices in the industry.

There are plenty of queer wedding vendors giving free and paid advice for how to be more inclusive in your language and business practices. I’m here as an ally, but I’m also a straight CIS-gendered woman, so I recognize that there are voices who will have even better advice, including based on their personal experience. These are just a handful of tips from a marketing perspective, but being a good ally in the wedding industry goes so much deeper. If you have questions and want me to connect you to someone who’s a great resource, reach out, and I’d be happy to connect you with someone! 

Feature clients who are queer in your website images.

(You know, show the weddings of clients who look like the kind of people you’d like to work with). Try to avoid relying on styled shoots to showcase queer couples, but if you have to in the beginning of your biz, 100000% make sure they’re actually a queer couple and not straight people acting queer. (Yes, some vendors actually fake this. Yes, it’s performative.)

Decline work that is homophobic or transphobic, so that you can help grow a more welcoming space.

If a vendor who has shown homophobic tendencies or behaviors wants to partner together, consider if the partnership is worth the cost of making a future client feel unsafe. Work toward building up a preferred vendors list that’s full of venues, florists, planners, photographers, videographers, rentals, and other businesses who would love to book LGBTQ+ couples. Make sure you can trust them to take really good care of your future LGBTQ+ clients. This goes so much farther than you think.

Attend LGBTQ+ events and volunteer with related organizations to show your support and build relationships with potential clients.

This could mean attending wedding shows, networking events, or discussions where LGBTQ+ vendors might be. Showing up as an ally in your community can be helpful to making authentic connections that could even turn into friendships down the road! And, this helps you with my next tip…

Support your queer friendors.

Make sure you’re doing this year-round, outside of the month of June. Send your wedding “friendors” business or ask if they want to grab a coffee. You should also link out to their website/profiles when you share their work or make a list of recommended vendors. Linking out to work created by queer wedding vendors, vendors you’ve partnered with on past weddings, is another way to make your website more inclusive and more welcoming to potential LGBTQ+ clients. 

Add your gender pronouns to your email signature, or even on your About page.

This is a little thing you can do that can make your future queer inquiries and partners feel safe and welcome. Consider adding your gender pronouns (he/his/him), (she/her/hers), or (they/them/theirs) to your email signature. You can also consider adding these to your About page in order to show that you care directly on your website. 

Revamp your website copywriting and words throughout your sales and onboarding processes. Always assume inquiries/clients have a partner.

If you get a new inquiry and are only talking with one person in the relationship, refer to them and their “partner”. Don’t assume that they have a future husband or wife. Along with that, don’t assume that they have a bridal party, bridesmaids, groomsmen, or other gendered titles. Wait for your clients to tell you what their relationship and wedding looks like.

You can incorporate this tip by updating your website to reference “wedding party” instead of “bridal party” or “getting ready suite” versus “bridal suite”. If you’re looking for a copywriter who can help you write inclusive copy for your website, reach out, and I’ll happily connect you with one of our copywriters!

Consider adding an inclusivity statement to an area of your website.

Adding an inclusivity statement that expresses that you’re a welcoming wedding vendor can help your couples feel more confident in reaching out to you. Here’s a way that we did it on one of my client’s websites, Wed 2 You.

Encourage all couples to incorporate traditions that are special to them, not industry standards.

In reality, a lot of wedding traditions are centered around straight CIS-gendered lifestyles. Understand that some of your queer couples (and straight couples for that matter!) may love to incorporate those traditions, while others will want to leave them at the door.

For example, not everyone wants a bouquet toss, wedding party, parent dance, garter toss, first look, etc. This goes without saying, but never force a tradition just because other couples are doing them.

You can encourage your clients to incorporate traditions that are special to them by creating a safe and welcoming space where they can share their unique cultural backgrounds and personal values. This is an important time to hear about what matters most to their day, and how that might even differe from industry “standards” or “norms”. Also work on educating yourself on diverse traditions and customs that couples may want to incorporate, and work on providiung suggestions and resources for incorporating those traditions in a meaningful way.

Keep in mind that weddings are so intersectional.

Your couples may find it important to incorporate a mix of religious, cultural, and personal traditions, all in one wedding. You can work on showcasing weddings that have alternative traditions in general, which can showcase to pretty much any couple that you’re into helping your clients create a day that’s unique to them, not just industry “norms”.

By actively listening to the couple’s vision, their passions and backgrounds, and being open to incorporating non-industry norms or standards, you can help create a wedding that incorporates all the pieces of them that matter most.

Be a nice person.

Obviously, being inclusive goes so much deeper than this. But, really. Be welcoming. Celebrate all love. It should go without saying, but treat people how you’d want to be treated. And, treat their weddings the same way you’d treat yours. Treat all your clients with a welcoming and celebratory attitude – one that lets them know that you’re there to be their hype-person, best friend, and ally throughout their wedding planning and wedding day.

Want more recommendations on how to elevate your website and create a more welcoming space? Check out our website checklist here, or contact us for a free website review!