Most wedding vendors would bemoan such a large drop in customers. But in Wilkinson’s eyes, it’s actually a positive turn of events.
“People have started to get married in their home states and their hometowns,” Wilkinson said. ”It’s a wonderful reason to lose wedding business.”
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The federal legalization and increased acceptance of same-sex marriage in the US has meant that Provincetown wedding businesses, which have long catered to this industry, are facing more competition — and that LGBTQ+ couples have far more options.
Between 2005 and 2020, more than 5,200 same-sex couples got married in Provincetown, according to the state’s Registry of Vital Records and Statistics. Eighty-three percent of those couples were married before 2015.
Throughout 2013, there were 652 gay weddings in Provincetown. By 2019, that yearly tally had fallen to 104.
The trend statewide has been similar. In 2019, there were 1,699 gay weddings in Massachusetts — just over half the number there were in 2013.
Provincetown’s roots as a welcoming town for the LGBTQ+ community date back to 1899, when Charles Hawthorne founded the Cape Cod School of Art, according to the Provincetown Business Guild. The school welcomed people who were part of the LGTBQ+ community, prompting the population to grow, and by the late 20th century, Provincetown became known around the country as a place that embraced freedom.
“It just is seen as a beautiful place, an accepting place,” said Jeannette de Beauvoir, co-owner of Get Married in Ptown, a business that helps people plan and execute wedding ceremonies.
De Beauvoir, who started officiating weddings in 2010, charges about $350 per wedding. She said the seasonality and uncertainty of the industry make her wary of calling it lucrative — it’s only one of her income streams. She’s also a writer who has published several books.
About 75 percent of the couples she officiates for are same-sex. Prior to federal legalization, she officiated 16 to 21 weddings per year. In 2015, she saw that number drop to 10. Since then, her numbers have bounced between three to 22 weddings a year.
It used to be that people got married in Provincetown because it was the only, or one of few, options, she said. Not anymore.
“The ones that are coming here now are coming because they’re drawn for other reasons,” she said.
One of those other reasons, she said, could be P-town’s enticing mix of gay-friendly culture and natural beauty. Nearly all the weddings she officiates are at Herring Cove, a beach in Provincetown. In fact, she married a couple there earlier this month: Lauren Christie-Bennett and Kaylin “Kal” Christie-Bennett.
The couple, from Ontario, Canada, met at a bar in 2018 and got engaged about five years ago. They pushed off the wedding at first due to the pandemic and initially had a destination in mind closer to where they live. But they ultimately decided on Provincetown because of its welcoming, friendly vibe and to make their wedding more of a vacation.
It was a great choice, they said.
“Everyone’s very, very genuine, very kind,” said Kal Christie-Bennett. “Anybody who doesn’t even know you will just come up and start chatting with you.”
Another popular venue, the Provincetown Museum and Pilgrim Monument, which boasts a large rectangular tower atop a hill with ocean views, has been hosting LGBTQ+ weddings since before federal legalization in 2015. Unlike other locations, which have sought out customers, it became a wedding venue mainly by chance.
“It was really just organic,” said Courtney Hurst, interim executive director. “People would just ask to get married up here, and then we’d say yes.”
The venue’s wedding numbers have done exceptionally well recently. It’s seen a 500 percent increase in weddings in the last six years, Hurst said. About 70 percent of its weddings are for same-sex couples.
The cost to rent the grounds ranges from $3,000 to $12,000, Hurst said. In 2023, grounds rentals, which include weddings, accounted for 5.7 percent of the museum’s revenue, the venue said. Hurst said it’s one of the largest — and most iconic — sites in Provincetown, as it can hold thousands of people.
“It’s the most beautiful view in town,” she said, of the view from the tower and grounds below. “It’s so long been the symbol of Provincetown.”
The Universalist Unitarian Meeting House also has wedding fees. It costs at least $400 to pay the minister or chaplain, $325 to have a wedding in the sanctuary, and $200 for a reception rental, according to the website. Members don’t pay fees, Wilkinson said.
The heyday of the Provincetown wedding industry may be in the past, but Hurst said another marriage-adjacent business is booming: bachelor and bachelorette parties.
“You can expect to see a gaggle of girls or guys ... with the whole matching outfits and the cowboy boots and all that,” Hurst said.
For couples like Lauren Christie-Bennett and Kal Christie-Bennett, Provincetown will always remain a special place, despite its decrease in wedding popularity.
“It’s really welcoming,” said Kal Christie-Bennett. “I find the community here is just, like, you can be who you are, and no judgment here whatsoever.”
Esha Walia can be reached at esha.walia@globe.com.