SAN ANTONIO – Love is available to you, no matter what you look like or who you want to spend your life with.
It’s a message local wedding planner and owner of All The Days, Jordan Maney, has been sending to potential clients since starting her own business in 2016.
“When I started my business, I knew that I wanted it to be different than, you know, the cookie cutter wedding planning service,” Maney said.
In an effort to build something different, Maney made it her mission to not only plan weddings but focus on the health and development of her clients’ relationships by offering counseling and prompting important conversations with her couples.
When it came to marketing her new business, Maney decided to do so with an emphasis on inclusivity.
“I started to get a lot of couples who were like, oh, I was talking to such and such business and they said, you know, they don’t work with my kind of couple,” she said.
That "kind of couple," referring to people of color and those who identify as LGBTQ+.
“You have couples that come to you that say, like, you know, ‘I had an identity crisis trying to plan my wedding because I didn’t see my skin color and hair texture, I didn’t see my partner, I didn’t see myself,‘” Maney said in reference to past couples she’s consulted with.
Maney's dedication to the well-being of her couples never falters during hard times.
While the coronavirus pandemic has hit small business hard across America, she said it’s provided her an opportunity to challenge herself and get creative.
“I’m starting to figure out different programming that I can offer online and virtually to help couples not just get through this pandemic, but really start a foundation for the rest of their lives,” Maney said.
The pandemic though, is not the only curve ball thrown her way this year.
“Of course, with the murder of George Floyd, it became a conversation of there’s so much anti-racism and inclusion education that has to happen in this industry,” Maney said. “We need to be having more conversations about why we don’t see as many black couples, especially black queer couples, in wedding media.”
The issues prompted an emotional plea from Maney on social media.
In a June 2 post on the All The Days Instagram page, Maney called out the wedding industry, challenging her peers and other businesses to step up and implement their own anti-racism pledge.
Maney said she wants to see those pledges come with action plans and deadlines for when those plans will be implemented.
“It’s going to be messy and uncomfortable and difficult, but it’s necessary. Let’s get it done,” she said.
While the road ahead may be long, Maney said there’s always one constant.
“No matter who you are, where you come from, how you love, who you love, love is available to you,” she said.