Same-Sex Couples More Likely to Pay for Their Own Wedding

With last week’s Supreme Court ruling that the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, same-sex couples in many states nationwide are in a better position to get married than they were before. However, it’s interesting to note that many of them may choose different ways to tackle the often sizable expenses that can come with a wedding day.

Today, 86 percent of same-sex couples say that they will pay or already have paid for their marriages themselves, according to a new survey from wedding site TheKnot.com and gay news magazine The Advocate. That’s a stark contrast to straight couples’ wedding plans — only 40 percent of those surveyed said they paid for their wedding themselves. There are a number of other changes for what are commonly considered to be traditional pre- and post-wedding events that could also alter their costs for getting married significantly.

“Same-sex weddings are no longer a fantasy; they’re fast becoming the norm,” said Stephen Murray, Here Media’s senior vice president for marketing and brand strategy. “Our 2013 Here Media/MRI survey reports that nearly 20 percent of our audience is planning to get married in the next one to three years.”

Just 8 percent of same-sex couples plan to have pre-wedding events like showers, and only 13 percent will engage in bachelor or bachelorette parties, the survey found. That compares with 22 and 25 percent, respectively, of straight couples who will do the same. However, same-sex couples plan to include more post-wedding events (19 percent compared to 6 percent for straight weddings) and morning-after brunches (13 percent to 10 percent).

Gay couples are also far less likely to go on honeymoons, with just 63 percent saying they would do so, the report said. Meanwhile, 84 percent of straight couples would do the same.

No matter their preferences, couples should take the time to explore all avenues of saving money when it comes to their weddings, as these events can set anyone back tens of thousands of dollars. That kind of price tag may be particularly difficult to bear given the current economic climate.

Image: iStockphoto