Via ShutterstockNow that Maryland voters have upheld a law approving same-sex marriage, gay and lesbian couples can start planning to hold their weddings in the Old Line State. And with the law going into effect next January 1, wedding-related businesses are expecting a healthy boost.
Clergy members, catering companies and DJs anticipate seeing some added revenue next year when same-sex couples can tie the knot in Maryland, The Washington Post reports. The Rev. Bonnie Berger, an interfaith minister in Takoma Park, said she could be officiating 50 percent more marriage ceremonies a year with the new law. She charges between $250 and $500 per couple.
Other wedding-related businesses are expecting better business, but not as much as Berger. Chris Grasso, who runs a wedding band, told the Post that same-sex weddings are generally less lucrative than straight weddings:
In Grasso’s experience, same-sex couples are more likely to pay for their own weddings than to have support from their parents, and they tend to be conservative when spending on extras like music. After Tuesday’s decision, Grasso expects an incremental increase in business as same-sex couples “let the reality sink in” — probably around 5 percent more business this year, he said.
That marriage equality will be good for business was one of Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s frequent talking points in urging voters to uphold the law he signed March 1. O’Malley and New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg made the point in an October 25 op-ed in The Baltimore Sun, in which they wrote that New York City generated $259 million in revenue in the first 12 months since New York State legalized same-sex marriage.
Still, just because the marriage market just got larger doesn’t mean every wedding-related business is headed for boomtown. Alissa Hall Perine, whose D.C.-based wedding planning company worked exclusively for same-sex couples, told the Post she’s shutting her business down. In nearly three years, her client base just wasn’t big enough.
