Abstract
Same sex marriage laws have recently been a topic for debate in many states in the U.S., with some states legalizing same sex marriage and others banning it. This research attempts to find the effect if any that same sex marriage and civil union/domestic partnership laws have on state-level wedding expenditures per capita, number of weddings per capita, and average wedding cost. This question is analyzed using OLS regression analysis and controlling for year and state specific characteristics with year dummy variables and state fixed effects. The results show that wedding expenditures per capita and number of weddings per capita increase but average wedding cost decreases for states with same sex marriage laws. The results for civil union/domestic partnership laws are similar except it is unclear what their effect is on average wedding cost. These findings imply that same sex marriage may be a valid topic for discussion when states are looking to increase revenues.