Welcome to The Learning Curve! A publication inspired by using my own privilege and allowing others with less of a voice to communicate their stories through me. Each month, readers vote on a theme that they want to be covered and would enjoy learning more about. Then, I set out to find people who are willing to share their personal stories with me and the rest of the Learning Curve community. November's topic is relationships!
Enjoy, and don't forget to subscribe so you never miss another post! The best part? It's currently free!
For a lot of same sex couples, planning a wedding can be intimidating and extra stressful because of the stigma that often comes with being gay. Not to mention, some states still adhere to outdated statutes against gay marriage.
Jenn and Randi Green, a happily married, same sex couple, built their company, Safe Spaces, around the mission that every couple deserves to have a safe, fun experience planning their dream wedding in the Jacksonville, Florida, area.
Jenn Green is an ordained minister with the United Church of Christ, and has been in the ministry since 2006. She and Randi met in 2014, one year after Jenn became ordained. The two started out as great friends who shared a common love for Disney, wine, good food and dogs.
They eventually fell in love in 2017 and got married at Walt Disney World in 2019.
Jenn (left) and Randi (right) on their wedding day in 2019. The couple now run Safe Spaces together to assist other same-sex couples.
“We knew Disney was gay friendly and we decided to get married there with just Jenn’s sons and our officiant,” Randi said on their website. “But when we wanted a party to share our happiness with our friends and family—things got awkward. Suddenly, we were calling businesses and asking if they were okay working with gay people.”
While the idea for Safe Spaces came to Randi originally, the two quickly worked together to put the company together; applying for a 501c3 to be a legal nonprofit and building their website and packages for couples together.
“We saw a need in the LGBTQ community to have a comfortable and normal time planning their dream wedding,” Jenn said. “It should be like a straight couple walking into a place and wanting to get married, but it’s a nagging at the back of our minds on whether they will turn us down or not.”
Safe Spaces removes the anxiety surrounding those conversations by working as somewhat of a messenger between venues and same sex couples. The Greens have also partnered with over 200 businesses that are actively in support of the LGBTQ community, allowing Safe Spaces to function as a resource to same sex couples still seeking vendors, venues, floral arrangements, etc.
The company started in March of 2021, and is quickly growing. They have helped with four weddings in the past three months and have three more on the books, they said. Jenn offers couples counseling as part of the customizable wedding package. The counseling is enneagram-based, requiring that each couple learn their personality type and then discuss communication patterns, spending habits, addiction patterns and sexual behaviors.
“One of the couples we already helped with their wedding still remain in contact with me because they were so excited about the enneagram counseling,” Jenn said. “They couldn’t believe how accurate it was, and have even caught themselves in the middle of a bad habit.”
Safe Spaces is not only for LGBTQ couples, and the enneagram counseling is applicable to people of all sexual orientations and genders. The company is geared toward helping people achieve their dream wedding, but also offer training and certificates to other businesses for being a “Safe Space” free of discrimination.
Since launching their business in March, the Greens have partnered with over 200 other businesses in Jacksonville. They meet with other business owners at different wedding expos, pride festivals and art walks.
“We believe that diversity and inclusion training is vitally important for our world today, but it doesn’t have to be boring” Jenn said. “We approach topics with humor and creativity to keep the trainees’ attention, to help them better remember the materials and to promote community discussion.
Jenn specialized in education during her time in the ministry, and is currently working on writing curriculum to sell to other businesses that teach owners and employees how to be accepting and diverse in their business, she said. The material will be entirely online and include videos, readings and a glossary of necessary terms and language.
While the Greens already help with weddings, training and counseling, they also thought about Safe Spaces after the wedding, they call these “after-spaces,” or anything a couple may need after the wedding. The list includes notaries, dog parks, veterinarians, lawyers and many other businesses in the Jacksonville area who are LGBTQ+ friendly and inclusive.
