PORTLAND, Maine (AP) - Gay couples are booking wedding dates in Maine for the warm weather ahead, but inns and wedding venues aren't expecting a deluge of new business like Massachusetts experienced when it became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage nearly a decade ago.
Maine recorded about 150 gay marriages in the first two months of the law. In contrast, about 2,360 same-sex couples were married in Massachusetts the first month its gay-marriage law was in effect in 2004.
While Maine's law has given hotels, photographers, florists and others a boost, they're not anticipating an immediate bonanza and expect the gay marriage business to slowly grow in the years ahead.
The Camden Harbour Inn, for one, has booked three same-sex weddings for this year and two more for 2014.
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