His answer: “Yes, but — — ”
There were a few conditions, including that the celebration be a “masculine” affair. The important part was the yes. By the time the evening was over, Mr. White, the former president of the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, had made two calls. One was to V. Gene Robinson, the Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, whom he asked to preside over the couple’s nuptials, at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Sept. 25. The other was to Julian Niccolini, an owner of the Four Seasons.
“It’s a great restaurant, they have the best food, and I’ve spent a lot of time there in my professional career,” Mr. White said about his choice of reception location.
If first comes love and then comes the law, the next step is finding the space. For thousands of gay and lesbian couples who have been waiting years for the legalization of same sex-marriage in New York, the jockeying for dates has already begun, with many looking to tie the knot in the fall, if not earlier.
Already the Glasshouses, two event spaces in the Chelsea Arts Tower, has seen a 25 percent increase in inquiries from prospective new clients, most of them same-sex, and Wolffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack, N.Y., that is a popular site for weddings, had to turn away a number of same-sex couples looking for immediate dates. Sue Calden, the estate’s event director, said that the winery still has availability on Saturdays starting in late October.
Lee Ellis, the event planner at the Southampton Inn, said that the inn already has four contracts out for couples who had started planning their weddings before the bill was passed. “We’ve been swamped,” said DeDe Gotthelf, the inn’s owner.
Those who have their heart set on being married at the Plaza before the end of the year might want to look elsewhere. The hotel’s event spaces are booked on Saturday nights through the rest of the year, although some Fridays and a few Sundays remain available.
The heightened demand for wedding locations is going to complicate the plans of many heterosexual couples in the coming months as well. “New York is going to become the Las Vegas of gay marriage,” said Grayson Handy, creative director of Prudence Designs and Events. This week, Mr. Handy booked his first lesbian wedding, a fete for 80 on Sept. 10 at a loft in the West Village.
For hotels and other spaces that have been struggling through the recession, the passage of marriage equality is a business boon not to be missed.
“I spent the weekend figuring out what we could do,” said Jennifer Blumin, president of the Skylight Group, a company that operates three event spaces in Manhattan and Brooklyn. On Monday, she sent an e-mail blast to 3,000 industry contacts, offering a 20 percent discount on all wedding bookings through the end of the year. The next day she received about 40 calls, many of them from same-sex couples or planners representing them, double the normal volume.
Meanwhile, the W Hotels of New York unrolled a “Right to Unite” package, which includes car service to city hall, champagne, cake and a party with a D.J. for 200 guests at the W New York-Downtown’s Living Room Bar and Terrace on July 25, the first day that same-sex couples will be able to legally marry in the state. The offer has yielded several inquiries, a representative said.
Deals aside, most couples are concerned with the logistics of planning a wedding on such short notice. In addition to calling a number of spaces, including the New York Botanical Garden and the Bear Mountain Inn, to check on availability, Vincent Iaropoli, a media supervisor for an advertising company, spent time this week figuring out the earliest date that his friends and family could travel to New York for his wedding to Joshua Wikum, a Broadway ticket broker. “We would love to have a fall wedding,” said Mr. Iaropoli, who has been living with Mr. Wikum for seven years.
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