Since same-sex marriage became legal in New Hampshire in 2010, 2,257 couples have wedded in the Granite State.
But female couples have been far more likely to get married than men.
Nearly three-quarters of all same-sex marriages conducted in New Hampshire since 2010 have been between two women.
Data from the state Division of Vital Records show 1,634 female couples have exchanged vows in the last three years.
That trend doesn’t surprise Cindy Sproul. She co-founded the North Carolina-based Rainbow Wedding Network, which hosts wedding expos across the country catered toward gay couples.
“Yes, there is a trend that more women tend to get married than men, although I have to say that in the areas where we’re seeing more states legalize some form of marriage equality we do see that trend bump up just a little bit.”
New Hampshire numbers also show same-sex marriages have tailed off in the past year.
In 2012, there were fewer than 400 same-sex marriages. So far this year, there have been about 30.
Nicholl Marshall with the division of vital records says there’s a reason for that drop off.
“Those involved in civil unions had the option to marry on their own during 2010. If they did not, those civil unions were converted to marriage on January 1st, 2011.”
An attempt to repeal New Hampshire’s same-sex marriage law failed in the House last year.
Marshall noted some other trends looking at the data:
- Portsmouth is always popular for same-sex marriage licenses, but he says nearly half of those licenses go to residents of Maine. With same-sex marriage legal in Maine as of December, Marshall says that trend will likely fade.
- The number of couples who reside out-of-state (in comparison to the number of people entering a same-sex marriage) is a significant portion of those entering same-sex marriages in New Hampshire since same-sex marriage is legal in a limited number of jurisdictions globally. The proportion may decrease as more states, and countries, legalize same-sex marriage.
- Bethlehem is a popular place for gay women to obtain licenses and/or get married. The Highlands Inn in Bethlehem advertises itself as a lesbian-friendly inn for weddings and honeymoons.
