Same-sex weddings boost NJ’s economy

One year after same-sex marriage became legal in New Jersey, 3,770 gay couples in the Garden State have gotten hitched -- spending an estimated $60 million on their weddings.

"The average number of guests at same-sex weddings is 78, while the average for heterosexual weddings is 130 guests," said Jamie Miles, editor of TheKnot.com.

She said one reason for this is that some same-sex couples have been together for 20 or 30 years, "and suddenly they're like, 'Oh, we can actually do this legally now,' so they're more interested in having an intimate ceremony just to celebrate the legalization and make it official."

Miles said the average marrying age for heterosexual couples is 30, when typically many people have a large amount of friends in their social network.

However, "the older that you get, you kind of narrow down your friend list and you're closer to your family, and you don't feel the need to have as large a group at your wedding."

While same-sex couples are inviting fewer guests to their weddings, they're still interested in creating a memorable event, having after-parties, having entertainment, fantastic catering, etc."

Miles said 91 percent of same-sex couples will see their partner's wedding attire in advance, which is a rarity at a heterosexual wedding.

"These couples are actually comparing what they're going to wear, and oftentimes they're playing off of one another, so maybe one of you will wear white, one will wear black, maybe both of you will wear a beautiful ball gown," she said. "It's neat that we're finding that couples might go shopping together for these dresses, or suits, or whatever they might be wearing instead of keeping it a secret. As long as vendors are open to expanding into the market of these homosexual couples, which is a beautiful and amazing thing to celebrate, the unity between these two people, it's going to help them in the short and long term."

Miles also pointed out proposal trends for same-sex couples have become more and more formal.

"Sixty percent of couples had formal proposals, while 71 percent said the proposal was a surprise and 41 percent proposed with a ring," she said.