Same-sex couples have spent over $1 billion on weddings in just one year

Illustrated rainbow pride flag on a pink background.

Since the Supreme Court ruled in favour of same-sex marriages in June 2015, same-sex couples have spent over $1.3 billion on their weddings.

A report by Gary Gates ā€“ the recently retired scholar at the Williams Institute at UCLA ā€“ analysed a Gallup survey of 11,600 same-sex couples and a WeddingWire survey of the spending of 1,400 same-sex couples.

According to the report, same-sex couples spend on average $11,000 on their weddings, while couples of the opposite sex spend on average $15,000.

Meanwhile, almost 1 million U.S adults are in same-sex marriages ā€“ a 33% increase in the twelve months since the Supreme Courtā€™s landmark ruling last year.

The latest records show there are an estimated 981,000 adults who are in gay or lesbian marriages, in comparison to 734,000 a year ago.

Same-sex couples have spent over $1 billion on weddings in just one year

That translates into nearly half a million same-sex marriages ā€” an increase of 123,000 since June 2015.

The results also mean nearly one in ten LGBT adults are married to a member of the same sex ā€“ up from 8% last year.

This includes 10.5% of gay men and 8.8% of lesbians, according to Gallup.

And nearly half of all LGBT couples who live together are married today ā€“ up from 38% a year ago.

The increase has been slightly greater in states that did not have same-sex marriage until the Supreme Court ruled, with much of the increase taking place in the first few months after the high courtā€™s ruling last year.