"Stay in a hotel. Buy flowers, clothes, meals or whatever. It's good for the economy."
The city's tourism agency - NYC & Company - says the gay wedding industry could be worth millions of dollars to the city, triggering job growth.
The agency plans to roll out an ad campaign to convince couples to take the plunge in the city where the gay rights movement began four decades ago.
"NYC & Company is working to create a multi-channel, global communications and marketing campaign - NYC I DO - to promote the vibrancy and attractiveness of the five boroughs as a gay weddings destination," said Kimberly Spell, the agency's chief communications officer.
NYC & Co. will release more details on its ad campaign in the coming days.
The agency is already promoting an NYC I DO page on its website - nycgo.com - that tells couples the rules for getting married here, offers them deals on hotels and lists popular wedding venues.
The rules: No, you don't have to be a New York resident to get married here. And yes, you can marry here even if you've already done so in another state.
The new law will go into effect on July 24 but since that's a Sunday, marriage licenses for same-sex couples may not be available until Monday, July 25.
Officials hope to have judges on hand to waive New York's usual 24-hour waiting period before a ceremony can be performed.
"I just don't know that everyone is going to rush to New York the first day given there are alternatives," Bloomberg said. "But we will be ready. Will there be lines the first day? Yes. Get ready for it. Get used to it. It's a lot better than no lines."
Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani meanwhile offered a more muted support for same-sex nups.
"I still state that marriage is being defined between a man and a woman, but I can truly understand what people are striving for," Giuliani said Monday at Joe Torre's Safe at Home Foundation golf outing at Trump National Golf Club in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.
"And as someone who signed civil unions and domestic partnerships, that's probably my preference. But I was very glad to see people relieved of this burden of discrimination, which is a terrible thing to feel."
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