Wedding bells for same-sex couples will bring an estimated $88.5 million to Washington state's economy in the next three years, according to a new report.The Williams Institute did an analysis to predict the economic effect of the new laws in Maine, Maryland and Washington state, where lawmakers approved marriage equality and voters recently affirmed that decision after an initiative.
The Williams Institute based their estimates on census data and previous experiences in other states that have legalized same-sex marriage. The report predicts that half of all same-sex couples will marry in the first three years under the new law.
The economic projection does not include out-of-state couples traveling to these three states to get married. If you include those weddings, according to the study, it boosts the economic and jobs data even more. In the first year that Iowa had same-sex marriage, about 1,200 couples came to the state to hold wedding there. Such marriage tourism would boost Maine's economic activity from same-sex marriage from $15.5 million to $25 million and create up to 250 new jobs, according to the think tank.
Here's a link to the Williams Institute report: Wedding Spending in Maine, Maryland, and Washington will generate over $166 Million in the First Three Years
And here's the AP story: Wedding trade expects boost from gay-marriage laws
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