Getting married is one of the biggest stresses in the entire world. That’s not even a flippant statement – according to the , marriage is the seventh most stressful life event you can deal with.
Those worries are only made worse by the very nature of being LGBTI. Will it be more difficult being in a same-sex relationship? Will they misgender you? Can you put your aunt next to your grandma without causing the world’s biggest argument?
Finding the right location is probably the first step to alleviating those worries. Wedding fashion brand have been investigating just this problem.
They looked at the 50 largest US metropolitan cities to see which of them is the best in the US for LGBTI weddings.
The cities were measured against how many inclusive wedding vendors worked in the city, how many same-sex households there were, the amount of non-discrimination ordinances in the city, the Human Rights Council’s Municipal Equality Index, and the level of LGBTI hate crimes in the area.
They also used the average cost of the wedding, inbound flight availability, and the amount of precipitation as measures. Because you can host a wedding in the most progressive city in the world but rain on your wedding day is still LGBTI-phobic.
Photo: Iam Macleod, Unsplash
Photo: Chris Murray, Unsplash
Photo: Casey Horner, Unsplash
Photo: Kyle Sudu, Unsplash
(Note: Georgia has passed an abortion ban which is harmful to people who become pregnant. It may not be the best place for many to get married)
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Michael Browning, Unsplash
Photo: Tomex Baginski, Unsplash
Photo: Pixabay
Photo: Mana, Unsplash
The Northeastern cities fared the best in the rankings, with seven out of the top 15 coming from the region. This is due to a high number of inclusive wedding vendors and protective non-discrimination ordinances.
The highest number of inclusive wedding vendors were found in Philadelphia, with 142. This is higher than New York City’s 126.
Places like San Francisco, while known for being the LGBTI hub in the country, are let down by the amount of vendors on this list. However, they have an equal or higher level of same-sex households – as well as good non-discrimination laws.
