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In the year since marriage equality has become legal, a new study shows that individuals within the community are spending a lot more on their nuptials.
The Knot, a leading resource for all things wedding, has teamed up again with Logo to bring us up to date on trends, stats, and figures in their fourth annual LGBTQ Weddings Study.
The takeaway from last year's study, when the Supreme Court ruling was still fresh, mainly concerned itself with how gay unions were perceived: 95 percent of couples surveyed referred to the occasion as an actual wedding, as opposed to a commitment ceremony or civil union, and the term "same-sex wedding" was on its way out.
This year, the major standout has to do with the average dollar amount spent on a gay wedding, which has grown considerably: "Men spend an average of $33,822 on their weddings, compared with $25,334 for women. Prior to legalization, the average cost was $18,242 for male couples and $16,218 for females in 2015," cites the study.
It's economical proof of the benefits of marriage equality. There was also an almost 50 percent jump in the number of men and women asking permission from their partners' parents before popping the question, which shows how the passage of marriage equality may have lent to a more open dialogue between families.
Executive editor at The Knot, Kristen Maxwell, says that many of the couples contacted for the study cite the newfound right to marry nationwide as having been the impetus to go more all out when it came to their affairs. "[It] gave them the green light to celebrate their marriage in a big way and surrounded by even more family and friends," Maxwell says.
A more sobering figure found in this year's study is the fact that "more than half of couples still report that family was not accepting of their marriage."
Another stat showed that one-third of LGBTQ couples found it "challenging" to decide which wedding traditions to uphold, but nonetheless, 65 percent of men and 70 percent of women say their wedding falls under the "traditional" category.
