The business of marriage: gay Americans eager to get hitched are bringing much-needed tourism dollars to SARS-weary Toronto.

Toronto city councilor Kyle Rae had a great deal of work to do in preparation for his wedding day, June 20. He and his partner, artist Mark Reid, had guests to invite, a venue to line up, and a call to answer from CNN--the network wanted to hook up a live feed to his ceremony.

And as if getting ready for his own wedding weren't enough, Rae says that ever since June 10, when the Ontario court of appeal legally sanctioned marriage for same-sex couples, his office bas been overwhelmed by phone calls from Americans. They want to know when, where, and precisely how to tie the knot. "I guess people found out I was the gay city councilor and assumed I'd know everything about it," Rae says.

Aside from the significant civil rights implications of the court's decision, the news out of Canada couldn't have come at a better time for business in Toronto.

The city had suffered from an astonishing drop in tourist bookings, by both gay and straight visitors, in the wake of the SARS outbreak earlier this year. Prior to Toronto's June 29 pride celebration, gay tourism representatives reported that American travel to the city--a crucial staple of the local tourism market--was down by as much as 90%.

"Many of us really thought SARS fears were going to spike pride," Rae says. "But Americans were elated about this freedom to marry and showed their support by coming to Toronto."

Come they did. In the first three weeks after the court decision, there were 319 marriage licenses issued to gay couples in Toronto--and 51 of them were issued to American couples.

Dubbed "Las Vegas North" by the city's biweekly gay newspaper Xtra! Toronto will now face competition from other Canadian cities--particularly Vancouver. A July 8 ruling by a British Columbia appeals court backed up the Ontario court's decision, making that province the second to sanction marriages between same-sex couples. And on July 17, Canada's national government delivered a draft of its redefinition of marriage--"lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others"--to Canada's supreme court, which has been asked for advice on the constitutionality of the legal shift. (The court, which by American standards is very liberal, is expected to endorse the proposal with only minor alterations, if any.)

Still, with Toronto gaining the better part of the early publicity around the court's decision, businesses there weren't about to drop the ball.

"I could certainly see the effects around pride weekend, but mainly in terms or media exposure," says Ric Tremaine, a spokesman for Toronto's gay tourism industry, who also runs two guesthouses. "Three of my rooms were booked specifically by media who wanted to cover the gay marriage angle. I see weddings as a boon here in the future."

Michael Swann, owner of Zelda's, a popular restaurant and pub in Toronto's gay district, says he has been inundated with calls about wedding receptions and party packages. "This is still very new," be says, "but I want American visitors to know that we're open for business and welcome them in. This is what we're here for." Meanwhile, Xtra! hopes to get some marriage business as well. The newspaper, which has long had a paid obituary section called Proud Lives, now features a paid wedding announcement section called Celebrate Life.

But gay-owned businesses aren't the only ones reaching for the new tourism dollars. Many mainstream hotels and restaurants also say they're eager to embrace the benefits.

"We are definitely going to be advertising our gay marriage packages in gay magazines across the U.S.," confirms Me]arde Coates, director of communications for the Royal York, one of Toronto's ritziest hotels. "We've hosted a gay square dancers' convention; we've hosted a gay doctors' convention. We intend to remain very positive in this area."

For all the excitement, marriage cynics will be happy to note that the court's recent decision also could result in a glut of gay tourists who need a legal end to their legalized relationships.

"We've had a number of calls from American gays and lesbians asking about divorce," says Gilles Marchildon, the executive director of the Canadian group Equality for Gays and Lesbians Everywhere.

"I suppose it's to be expected," Marchildon sighs. "In response, we've put together a list of commonly asked questions about gay divorce, along with our answers, which we can fax or E-mail to anyone who requests it."

Hays is associate editor of the Montreal Mirror.