Norfolk based Weddings with Pride released the results from an extensive first-ever survey of Virginia and North Carolina same-sex couples planning a wedding with some surprising (and not so surprising) results.
“Our goal was to gain an understanding of the unique wedding planning desires and needs of same-sex couples in our red and purplish states,” said Eric Hause, President of Weddings with Pride and Outwire757. “We always felt that those needs are different from those in California or New York, and our survey proved the point.”
The survey of 900 respondents was conducted online and in person at half a dozen Pride festivals throughout North Carolina and Virginia. It found that a vast majority of couples want to work with wedding pros whom they can identity as supportive of marriage equality simply by looking at their external marketing (web sites, magazines, brochures, and online). Couples also prefer to meet vendors in person or at a wedding expo after doing their own research.
The legalization of marriage equality has also resulted a majority of couples surveyed more likely to get married, although many are taking up to two years to plan their wedding. 80% of the survey respondents were women.
“The results support what we have found in talking to same-sex couples who attend our wedding expos and we meet at Pride celebrations,” said Hause. “While they’re excited by the prospect of being able to legally marry, the daunting wedding-planning process combined with the specter of religious objection laws has many gay couples approaching the process with a degree of wariness.”
The year-long survey was conducted from September 2015 through September 2016.
Weddings with Pride is a division of Outwire757 and produces the Coastal Virginia and Outer Banks Gay Wedding Showcases each winter.
Here are the full survey results.
