The wedding industry is a multi-million dollar economic driver in Maine, according to a new economic analysis conducted by the University of Southern Maine.
Among key findings in the MarryME Report: weddings in 2017 drove about $937 million in total output and supported more than 13,600 jobs.
Laura Yeitz, a research analyst with the Center for Business and Economic Research at USM, which produced the report, says the numbers were surprising to her.
"You hear a lot about the cruise industry and the brewery industries and the amount they contribute to the economy in tourism, and this is quite surprising because the number was significantly higher both in spending and overnight tourists," Yeitz says.
According to the report the state attracts about 930,000 overnight wedding guests, who will spend nearly $346 million at businesses while they are in the state.
Almost 9,700 weddings were held in Maine in 2017 with direct wedding expenditures of more than $200 million.
Yeitz says the findings support further development of the state’s wedding industry.
