NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — Cheeky wedding cake toppers is Sarah Broadhurst’s thing.
She sells non traditional toppers, such as a neon acrylic “He put a ring on it” sign as an alternative to the usual porcelain figurines, to top the big day cake.
But since the Supreme Court’s historic ruling on same-sex marriage last week, her cake toppers featuring two women or ones that read “Mr and Mr” have been huge hits. Sales have jumped 80% on the same-sex cake toppers.
“The increase is great for me,” said Broadhurst, who sells her goods on Etsy, the online mecca for handmade doodads. “And I am pleased for the gay community that the same-sex wedding industry is thriving.”
Others in the wedding business are also reporting a similar boom just in the last week, and are anticipating even more down the road.
In California alone, 37,000 same-sex couples are likely to marry over the next three years, and the state’s economy will gain approximately $492 million in new business revenue from same-sex couples’ weddings, according to research from the law school at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Purple Unions, a site where wedding vendors pay to be listed as “gay friendly,” has seen a 500% increase in the number of vendors who normally list with them on a given week.
“A lot of vendors have been waiting for this day before they paid to be listed,” said Mark Guzman, a co-founder of Purple Union. “There’s a big need for all of these vendors and they’re realizing it’s the time for them.”
Anja Winikka, site director for popular wedding website TheKnot.com, said that traffic to its gay weddings page more than doubled the day after the ruling, and has kept up ever since.
Already, national stores like Targe run banner ads aimed at same-sex couples on the site.
But Winikka said local vendors too are eager to reach the expanding audience. TheKnot has added more content that’s specific to same-sex couples, with advice on how to word an invitation or how to announce an engagement to less-supportive friends.
