Career Advice & News Center

Event planning can be a fun career that allows people to show off their creativity and attention to detail. Whether it's planning a corporate party, celebrating someone's birthday or organizing a wedding, there is always an occasion for an event planner. Specifically with weddings, related fields such as caterers, venues and florists all see an increase in consumer spending as their big day quickly approaches.

Since gay marriage has been legalized in Washington, D.C., economic analysts are predicting that wedding-related jobs will increase in the area, according to the Washington Post. The nonprofit organization, the Williams Institute, recently conducted a study that predicts that the legalizing of same-sex marriages will create more than 700 jobs in Washington, D.C., and will bring in $52.2 million over the next three years.

"We think it's a great opportunity to capitalize on groups that will be coming to Washington," Elliott Ferguson, chief executive of Destination D.C., the city's tourism and marketing arm, told the news provider. "It's the nation's capital. It's symbolic."

Not only are wedding planners, catering companies, event halls and restaurants taking advantage of the new law, with the hope that same-sex couples will choose the utilize their services, but local jeweler, Mervis Diamond Importers, will be releasing a set of wedding rings specifically targeted at same-sex couples.

"We're in the business of love," Jonathan Mervis, the company's digital strategist, told the Post. "This is just an extension of what we've always been about."

The area is also known for its extravagant weddings. According to the news source, the national average cost of a heterosexual wedding is $19,000. However, in Washington, D.C., this number climbs to $40,000.

According to Sound Vision, the wedding industry brings in $72 billion to the economy every year.