Dear Visitor:

San Francisco has been at the forefront of "free love" since the Summer of Love in 1967. In 2008, California's Supreme Court confirmed San Francisco's conviction that people of the same gender must be given the right to say "I love you…forever" through the institution of marriage.

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau wants to be among the first to wish all lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples the warmest of congratulations on securing marriage rights in this hard-fought battle.

We hope you will think of San Francisco as the ideal spot to plan your perfect wedding and/or honeymoon. We point with great pride to the latest national LGBT tourism survey in which visitors voted San Francisco America's most gay-friendly destination by a wide margin. Along with our partners in commerce, the Golden Gate Business Association (the nation's first LGBT Chamber of Commerce), we want to encourage everyone to "Come Out Here" and visit the first city in the United States to perform same-sex marriages and the only state where everyone, including visitors, has the constitutional right to marry.

The San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau makes it easy for you to plan holidays and events and celebrate the freedom to marry in San Francisco. Both our LGBT Visitors Kit and our online Gay Travel directory offer resources and referrals for everything from gay-friendly tours and hotels to wedding planners, florists and bakeries that can create a wedding cake to remember.

Our Web site (onlyinsanfrancisco.com/gaytravel) also has links to the very latest information on how to obtain wedding certificates at San Francisco City Hall and on activities for Pride 2008 and beyond.

There has never been a prouder moment for gender equality. Personally, being able to say “I do” to my life partner is something I only dreamed about before and it will finally come true in 2008. I welcome all couples who share that dream to join us in San Francisco this year!

Sincerely,

Joe D’Alessandro
President & CEO