EDISON, NJ – January 19, 2010 – WeddingWire, the nation’s leading wedding technology company, just announced savvyplanners.com ™ has been selected to receive the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™ for Wedding Planners/Designers!
The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ recognizes and celebrates excellence in quality and service within the wedding industry, as determined by recent reviews and extensive surveys from over 500,000 newlyweds.
savvyplanners.com ™ is among the top five percent of all vendors in the WeddingWire community, which includes over 100,000 wedding professionals across the US and Canada. Awards were given to winners across 19 different service categories, from wedding venues to wedding photographers.
“We are excited to recognize and honor the success of the top wedding professionals within the WeddingWire Community” said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire’s Chief Executive Officer. “The annual Bride’s Choice Awards™ program has given us the unique opportunity to highlight the best wedding professionals in each region as reviewed by brides and grooms who have utilized their services in the past year.”
We are happy to announce that savvyplanners.com ™ is among the very best Wedding Planners/Designers within the WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire, thebestmiamiweddings.com and Martha Stewart Weddings.
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We would like to thank our past newlyweds for nominating us for the 2010 Bride’s Choice Awards™.
About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding vendors. WeddingWire enables engaged couples to search, compare and book over 100,000 reviewed wedding vendors nationwide, from wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools, including wedding websites and wedding checklists, all at no charge. For wedding vendors, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. In addition, WeddingWire has partnered with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. (NYSE: MSO) to provide its network of local vendors and online wedding-planning tools in the Weddings section of www.MarthaStewartWeddings.com. For additional information, please visit www.WeddingWire.com.
There is other programing being aired on New Jersey Network, with an occasional crawl indicating that they will pick up coverage “once the Senate takes up the bill”.
The Family Equality Council is thrilled that Cynthia Nixon, lesbian mom and star of Sex and the City, will be joining the kick off event for the campaign to end Florida’s adoption ban. Nixon is a leading lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) advocate, for which Family Equality Council honored her at our National Awards Dinner in 2008. The Family Equality Council has joined the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Florida, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and SAVE Dade in the campaign to end Florida’s adoption ban.
Join us to Overturn Florida’s Adoption Ban!
The Florida ban is the only law in the county that categorically prohibits gay men and lesbians from adopting children. The Family Equality Council, the ACLU of Florida, GLAAD, and SAVE Dade are hosting a training in Orlando, Florida that will provide participants with the basic skills to take a stand against Florida’s adoption ban.
Date: Saturday, January 23, 2010
Time: 2:00-6:00 pm
Location: Marriott Orlando Downtown 400 W. Livingston Street Orlando, FL 32801 407.843.6664
Registration: www.aclufl.org/training
Pre-registration is required. Space is limited!
Adult Programming
GLAAD will be providing training for adults ages 18 and up. Training participants will learn how to prepare and deliver short talks on adoption to local groups (PTA, etc.), have one-on-one conversations with non-LGBT people, conduct media interviews and utilize other skills to educate the public and change people’s hearts and minds on this critical issue.
Tween/Teen & Children’s Programming
The Family Equality Council will be providing age-appropriate educational programming for youth aged 3 to 17 that will run concurrently with the adult training.
* Children’s Programming for children aged 3 to 8 focuses on developing self-esteem and celebrating family diversity through arts & crafts, games, and activities.
* Tween/Teen Programming for youth aged 9 to 17 focuses on increasing self-esteem, building community, and developing leadership skills in the context of age-specific issues such as responding to bullying and engaging social media. In addition to providing a platform of support, this training is intended to prepare youth to tell their personal stories in support of efforts to repeal Florida’s adoption ban.
Do you have questions about whether your child is appropriate for this programming? Would you like to volunteer to help with the youth trainings? Please contact Volunteer Manager Sara Leckey at sara.leckey@familyequality.org.
(LOS ANGELES) – The Williams Institute released this week a new study estimating the financial impact of New Jersey extending marriage to same-sex couples. The report estimates that extending marriage to same-sex couples would boost the New Jersey economy by almost $200 million during the next three years, creating approximately 1,400 jobs and generating over $15 million in revenues for the state budget.
The estimate, based on Census Bureau data, includes data from states that have extended marriage to same-sex couples, and a recent survey of Massachusetts gay couples asking them to report how much they spent on their weddings.
Credit: San Diego Gay and Lesbian News
This is the fourth analysis of the fiscal impact of extending the rights and obligations of marriage to same-sex couples conducted by the Williams Institute for New Jersey. Prior studies analyzed the impact of New Jersey’s domestic partnership and civil union laws. In the summer of 2008, the Institute presented an analysis of the fiscal impact of marriage to the New Jersey Civil Union Commission.
“The new report takes into account the changing legal landscape and the recession,” says study co-author Brad Sears, Executive Director of the Williams Institute. “When we conducted our last analysis in 2008, New Jersey would have only competed with one other state in attracting out-of-state same-sex couples seeking to marry. Now same-sex couples can marry in five other states.”
The recession has also reduced the amount that couples in the United States and New Jersey spend, on average, on their weddings.
Sears testified about the new analysis before the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, December 7. The marriage legislation was passed by a 7-6 vote.
The new report also takes into account that New York same-sex couples now have a greater incentive to come to New Jersey to marry. “While the legislature did not extend marriage to same-sex couples this month, the New York Court of Appeals recently upheld the decision of state agencies to recognize the relationships of New York same-sex couples who marry in other states” says study co-author Christopher Ramos. “This makes it likely that many New York couples will make the short trip to New Jersey to marry.”
This new estimate only includes direct spending by same-sex couples on their weddings, and tourism spending by out-of-state couples who travel to marry in New Jersey and the guests of in-state couples who marry. It does not include spending by family members and friends on gifts or by those traveling within New Jersey to attend weddings. The estimate also does not include the standard multiplier for tourism spending, that each $1 spent in the state generates over $2 in additional spending.
“If these factors are taken into account,” says Sears, “the total impact on the New Jersey could be close to half a billion dollars.
GSE: “Savvyplanners, news of a lifetime: STATE SENATE TO VOTE THURSDAY ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL”
MEMBERS: BREAKING NEWS FOR YOU TO FORWARD IMMEDIATELY TO YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES, ORGANIZATIONAL AND CONGREGATIONAL COLLEAGUES — AND TO YOUR LIST SERVS AND BLOGS:
The New Jersey State Senate has just announced it is voting this Thursday, January 7, 2010 on the marriage equality bill. We need each of you to join us for this most momentus (sic) day in our lives.
We ask you to meet us in front of the State House in Trenton Thursday at 10:30 am, when we will march from the State House to the State House Annex, and then talk to legislators before the vote.
You may meet us in front of the State House earlier than 10:30 am Thursday to help us organize. We will be there earlier whenever you arrive.
The address of the State House, for GPS and MapQuest purposes, is 125 West State Street. Park at the Trenton Marriott garage, 1 West Lafayette Street.
Thursday afternoon, immediately after the Senate vote, Garden State Equality will hold a news conference and a free member reception at the Trenton Marriott Ballroom, 1 West Lafayette Street. We ask all of you, members and journalists, to be there.
For further information
Journalists: Contact Chair Steven Goldstein, cell (917) 449-8918.
Members: Contact Co-Field Director Dani Bernstein, cell (909) 561-3738.
By MICHAEL SYMONS • GANNETT STATE BUREAU • viaDailyrecord.com January 5, 2010
TRENTON — A vote has been scheduled for Thursday in the state Senate on a bill allowing gay couples to marry in New Jersey, state Senate President Richard J. Codey announced Tuesday afternoon.
A Senate vote had been expected in mid-December but was postponed when it was apparent the measure didn’t have the 21 votes needed to pass. It’s still not clear whether the bill will pass, but Codey said the bill will be considered.
“Given the intensely personal nature of this issue, I think the people of this state deserve the right to a formal debate on the Senate floor,” said Codey, D-Essex. “”I’d like to commend both sides of this issue for their passionate advocacy thus far and the heartfelt testimony that we have heard.”
Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr., D-Camden, announced last week that the Assembly Judiciary Committee would not hold a hearing on the bill, as had been expected. But he said he would send the bill to the Assembly floor for a vote, bypassing a hearing, if the Senate approves the bill.
The Senate has 22 Democrats — one short now that former Sen. Dana Redd has become Camden’s mayor — and 17 Republicans. Just one Republican senator, Bill Baroni Jr. of Mercer County, in expected to support the bill. But a handful of Democrats also oppose.
PALM DESERT – A long list of new laws take effect on January 1, 2010. Here is a list of a few of the highlights:
Harvey Milk Day 2010: California Law Stipulates May 22
SB572 institutes an official Harvey Milk Day on May 22nd. It includes a provision that encourages public schools to hold commemorative exercises that familiarize students with Harvey Milk’s accomplishments and the contributions he made to California.
Recognition of Same Sex Marriage (minus the designation): SB54 specifies that same sex marriages are recognized in California. The marriages must meet one of two qualifications: a) they must have been entered into legally during the period of time when California offered gay marriage; b) they must have taken place before 11-05-2008 in a state that legally performs same sex marriage.
Gay couples in New Hampshire will welcome the new year with champagne toasts and wedding rings.
A gay marriage law approved by lawmakers takes effect on January 1. Gay couples who want to be among the first to marry in the state will be making their wedding vows along with their new year resolutions.
New Hampshire officials began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples on October 3. As of Wednesday, 29 lesbian and 11 gay couples had secured marriage licenses, which expire after 90 days.
Stephen Wurtz, acting director of the state’s Division of Vital Records, told On Top Magazine that the state does not impose a waiting period for a marriage license, predicting the number of same-sex weddings on the law’s first day would not be possible.
In an email, Wurtz said the state has recognized 809 gay couples in the past 24 months since a civil unions law went into effect. In its first month, January 2008, 174 gay couples tied the knot, but since then the number has steadily decreased, with only 6 civil union licenses issued so far in December.
Couples joined with a civil union can apply for a conversion to marriage or a new marriage license, but all civil unions will automatically convert to marriages on January 1, 2011. The state will no longer issue civil union licenses after December 31, 2009.
Several large gay marriage celebrations are being planned for New Year’s Eve.
The New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, the group that lobbied for the gay marriage law, will hold a large celebration ceremony on the steps of the state capitol in Concord on New Year’s Eve. Claire Ebel, executive director of the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union, will serve as justice of the peace. (The group would not comment on how many couples they expect will marry at the event.)
“This event is an affordable way for same-sex couples to legally marry, make history by being amongst the first couples to wed on the first day the law is enacted in New Hampshire, and to start the new year by publicly declaring their love while standing up for their rights at such a legislatively critical time in gay history,” Tim Harrises, event coordinator, said in a statement.
New Hampshire joins Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont in legalizing gay marriage. Lawmakers in the District of Columbia have approved a gay marriage law expected to take effect in February.
Same-sex couples may get a nice holiday greeting from Asbury Park, N.J., with the city council set to endorse marriage equality, possibly on the morning of Christmas Eve.
Asbury Park city council members said Wednesday they plan to approve a resolution supporting marriage equality and may do so at a special meeting scheduled for December 24 to discuss an unrelated issue.
While granting marriage rights is up to the state — and New Jersey legislators are considering a marriage equality bill — the Jersey Shore resort town can send state lawmakers an important message, observers said.
“It’s very exciting,” Steven Goldstein, chair of gay group Garden State Equality, told the Asbury Park Press. “The expected passage of a resolution by Asbury Park for marriage equality really encapsulates all that New Jersey has to gain economically.” Because of the money that stands to be spent on weddings and tourism, marriage equality is not only morally right but “will be an engine of economic progress for all people,” Goldstein added.
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