Jewellery and Same-Sex Marriages

Right here in the UK, thanks to the introduction of same-sex marriages, civil partnerships have declined by 85% since 2013. In fact in the first month of same-sex marriages becoming legal 1,049 couples in love got married.

To celebrate this fact I have been chatting with the team over at Angelic Diamonds, retailers of bespoke wedding rings, to take a  look at how this wonderful change in weddings has affected the jewellery market.

Legalisation of same-sex marriages

The first same-sex wedding in the UK took place on 29^th March 2014 and since then, 15,098 couples legally married under the new legislation (up to 30^th June 2015). 55% of these weddings were between women and 45% between men.

What’s more same-sex marriage is now legal in all states of the US and researchers have already noticed some interesting effects on spending from this. For instance, it was found that couples spend more on their weddings than they would have on a civil partnership.  With men being found to spend $15,580 more and women $9,116 on average. With this in mind, many wedding retailers are changing to include a whole new range of products, by offering bespoke supplies such as his and his and of course hers and hers wedding toppers and signage. In fact, it is estimated that already the same-sex wedding industry is worth an incredible $51 billion (£38.8 billion).

Adapting the traditions

We all know the traditions of heterosexual marriage, after all, they have been around for hundreds of years; the male asks for approval from the woman’s parents, he purchases an engagement ring and proposes. Then when the wedding comes around and the groom has his groomsmen and the bride has their bridesmaids.

Same-sex couples have in their own way adapted these traditions to make them, their own. For instance, research has shown that 81% of gay men don’t participate in the engagement ring buying. Instead, they purchased substitute gifts, such as an expensive watches, then purchasing rings only for the wedding ceremony.

When it comes to pre-wedding celebrations instead of stag and hen dos, studies show that gay couples often decide to go on a couple’s getaway or a group holiday with all of their friends.

Those who walk down the aisle with the happy couple often become made up of both sexes with female groomsmen and male bridesmaids being more common. While during the ceremony, husband and wife is of course removed with the pair in love becoming partners for life.

However, there are some traditions that still seemed to be followed, with more than half of the women surveyed choosing to not see their loved one on the morning of the wedding and keeping it as a surprise for at the altar.

Walking down the aisle seems to offer up a couple of ideas, including partners walking together or choosing to walk with a parent.

How has the jewellery industry changed?

Of course, the jewellery industry has seen its own adaptions, with the rise in same-sex weddings. It is sad to note that many gay couples decided to shop online, as they found shopping instore could lead to awkward encounters. To try and combat this, the jewellery industry has been bringing in its own changes such as using couples in advertising campaigns to try and show all couples they are welcome.

I said before about how engagement rings weren’t so common but how about the wedding ring itself?Well when it comes to the sort of rings chosen, many couples decide not to go for matching rings, but for them to have matching features, such as colouring or stones. Some jewellers have even started tooffer metals which have a multi-coloured look to them – to represent the flag of the LGBTQ community.

*This is a collaborative post.