Manager of Lithgow’s Secret Creek Cafe and Restaurant Tenille Evans reported a “surge” in wedding enquiries after the the marriage equality bill was passed in December. 

The cafe will host its first legally recognised same-sex wedding in March. 

Related stories:  

“Yeah, our first is booked in for March, they are a Sydney couple. We’ve had a few enquiries from couples, maybe four enquiries since the announcement, which is a lot compared to the usual number of enquires for that time,” Ms Evans said. 

The restaurant has already been a site of celebration for two women who had their marriage legally processed in the UK, but held the ceremony in Australia. 

“We’ve always believed in marriage equality. I guess we’ve always been that sort of business,” Ms Evans said. 

Angela O’Connor the president of the Lithgow District Chamber of Commerce said Lithgow was “ideally situated” to take advantage of the marriage laws. She said the chamber would be discussing potential initiatives with its members to drive business in the weddings sector. 

“We are surrounded by venues which have historically been used for marriage celebrations. Obviously the change in legislation will take effect this month so the flow on, presumably will be felt in the next twelve months,” she said. 

Hartley resident Sebastian Caruso, who has decided to formalise his commitment with his partner Jeff Thurlow, also believed the increased demand for weddings was an opportunity for Lithgow. 

“We should be thinking about it now. Are businesses primed for that market at this stage? How do we as an economic community get ready for it? Because it could be a huge injection.

“I myself will be looking at what services are available here, because we love living here,” he said. 

Operations manager at the Lithgow Workies Shane Wade said the club was engaged in marketing to both heterosexual and same-sex couples in Sydney but did not have any same-sex weddings booked in yet. 

“We are expecting we will attract more weddings because of the legislation,” he said.

“We [Lithgow] just have to put ourselves out there as a destination. There’s wedding venues around and we have beautiful destinations here.”

Tenille Evans encouraged businesses to research ways they could be more inclusive of LGBT customers. 

She said Secret Creek’s inquiry forms intentionally used gender inclusive terms, like ‘partner 1’ and ‘partner 2’ instead of ‘husband’ and ‘wife’, and that staff were trained to use language that was not discriminatory. Ms Evans said she would ensure the venue’s promotional materials used photos that showed a diversity of clientele. 

“I think local businesses tend to say, ‘oh, well anyone’s welcome here,’ but it’s more than just words. Are you actually creating a space where queer couples feel welcome - and where their needs being being met?” she said. 

“I guess we have to strike a balance where it’s not making a spectacle of same-sex marriage, but making it a normal part of what couples look like.”