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Gay Marriage Rulings Mean Big Bucks For Wedding Planners

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Wedding season is about to kick into high-gear after two Supreme Court rulings on Wednesday.

The court threw out a provision of the Defense of Marriage Act and challenged the jurisdictional standing of an appeal to the overturning of Proposition 8.

With Wednesday's proposals come parties.

"There's going to be a lot of gay weddings for both gay and lesbian couples," said Sacramento wedding planner Kate Miller.

Planners like Miller are already hearing from gay and lesbian couples about their plans to finally be able to legally say "I do."

"I've had clients and friends who wanted to get married, but purposely held off from getting married until it was actually legal," she said.

The president of the LGBT Chamber says the rulings will have a huge economic impact on the tourism and hospitality sectors, creating jobs in California and bringing a revenue boost to small businesses in the wedding industry.

"Our average wedding has somewhere around 12 to 15 vendors alone," said Miller.

From the venue, to the cake, to the invitations and the flowers.

Shannon Cosgrove, a Sacramento wedding florist, has done commitment ceremonies for gay couples in the past. But she says she's now expecting the future will be filled with fabulous weddings for her same-sex clients.

"It's a whole other sector of people that weren't having receptions, weren't having weddings for the most part," she said. "And it's so exciting to see a whole sector of people that get to celebrate that and experience that and get to bring their families together and share their love, and that's amazing."

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