http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-wedding2-2008jun02,0,433388.storyToday's LA Times:
Gay marriage may be a gift to California's economy
Business is up for hotels, bakers and photographers as same-sex couples prepare to wed.
By Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
June 2, 2008
Forget economic stimulus checks. Same-sex marriages may give California just the financial boost it needs.
Wedding planners, bakers and hotels began booking more business almost immediately after the state Supreme Court's May 15 decision overturning a ban on gay marriage. Citing pent-up demand, one UCLA study projects that same-sex unions could provide a $370-million shot in the arm to the state economy over the next three years.
"Being in West Hollywood, we've been inundated," said Tom Rosa, owner of the Cake and Art bakery on Santa Monica Boulevard. "After the ruling, the phone really picked up."
Rosa said couples who had waited for decades to legally marry were splurging on 5-foot-tall confections shaped like carousels and cakes featuring handcrafted birds of paradise.
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