Report: Wedding bells also ring registers in Maine businesses

Photo / Art Boulay A married couple celebrate their joy with a kiss at a rented wedding hall in Bailey Island. Their wedding was attended by dozens of out-of-state guests who spent money on rooms and restaurants during their time in Maine.

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By Peter Van Allen

It's wedding season and a new report shows couples and their invitees contribute an estimated $937 million to the Maine economy.

The "Marry ME" report, created by the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Southern Maine, says direct spending on weddings totaled $205.9 million and supported 13,600 jobs in 2017.

The overall impact included hotel, restaurant and retail spending by wedding guests. Overnight visitors spent $345 million at Maine businesses during their wedding stays. Taxes from weddings and wedding visitors contributed $40 million locally and another $32 million in state taxes.

"The scale of the wedding industry and its contribution to the Maine economy has gone largely unnoticed, until now," said Ryan Wallace, director of the Maine Center for Business and Economic Research, which is part of the Muskie Institute of Public Service at USM.

"The 'Marry ME' report demonstrates how weddings not only contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the economy, but are also a key driver of tourism to the state, attracting upwards of 1 million visitors each year."

The report was commissioned by Nadra Edgerley and Heidi Curry, wedding business owners and advocates for establishing Maine as a destination for weddings.

"We feel it is important for not only the state, but the private sector to begin to recognize the contribution the wedding industry has on the economy and the growth we can achieve by attracting a larger percentage of destination weddings," Curry said. "As tourism is such an important part of the Maine economy, it is important to understand how the wedding industry here in the state can benefit businesses and industries outside of the scope of the traditional wedding vendor."

The wedding economy is significant enough that USM is adding it to its tourism and hospitality program.

"This industry contributes significantly to the tourism economy of Maine," said Tracy Michaud, an assistant professor of Tourism & Hospitality. "It is important that we incorporate event management classes into our USM Tourism & Hospitality curriculum. We have an event planning certificate as well. A number of students have completed wedding-based internships with wedding planners, wedding venues and caterers. Currently, we have USM Tourism and Hospitality alumni working in all aspects of the wedding industry."