How marriage equality changed the wedding industry

Business Daily

BBC

News, Business

4.4 • 796 Ratings

🗓️ 22 May 2025

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s been 10 years since Ireland made history by becoming the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a public vote.

While other countries had legalised it, it was the first time a referendum had been held.

We hear from wedding planners, photographers and venues about how things have changed for them since the 2015 referendum.

As the overall number of marriages in Ireland decreases, the number of same-sex marriages is still increasing. We hear from same-sex couples who are now seen as prospective clients for this sector.

Produced and presented by Leanna Byrne

(Image: Alan Hatton and Darren Lawlor)

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello and welcome to Business Daily from the BBC World Service.
0:04.1	I'm Leanna Byrne and today we're heading to Ireland to talk about weddings.
0:08.6	Ten years ago, Ireland was the first country in the world to have a referendum on same-sex marriage.
0:14.4	It passed.
0:15.7	We'll be finding out what impact this has had on the wedding industry here in Ireland,
0:19.6	where the money is being spent,
0:21.5	and we'll hear from planners, venues and photographers about how they've adapted to this new
0:26.3	market. That's all coming up on this edition of Business Daily.
0:31.1	So I brought some samples. When you first get engaged, you're riding high, telling friends,
0:36.3	celebrating, showing off your engagement ring,
0:38.9	but inevitably reality hits and you have to start planning the wedding. That's exactly where
0:44.3	Alan Hatton and Darren Lawler find themselves now at their red brick home in Dublin's trendy
0:49.5	stony-batter neighbourhood discussing invitations with designer Anna O'Burn.
0:53.9	The vibe that we have is the colours.
0:55.7	Okay, yeah.
0:56.1	We were talking about up the other day.
0:58.5	So, what do you feel about the planning now that you've just been looking at your
1:01.5	invites and you're getting ideas into your head?
1:04.0	Really good. I think it makes it feel like real now, as opposed to just kind of conceptual.
1:10.6	But, uh... It's complex. There's a lot to do the pair got engaged last
1:14.3	December between Christmas and New Year on the west coast of Ireland it's December 27th trying to remember
1:20.7	the day 29th 29 sorry December just gone Christmas like just gone in Doul in Fonore Beach, just outside Doolin and County Clare.
	...

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