Gay and lesbian couples are packing their suitcases and traveling to marriage destinations. Since same sex marriage became legal in places like Iowa and Washington DC, gay men and lesbians are more than happy to take a trip to exchange their vows.

 Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Health released this week that 60 percent of same sex couples married in Iowa since 2009 are from out-of state, the DesMoines Register is reporting.

Same sex marriage became legal in Iowa in April 2009 and since that time, Iowa has handed out around 2,000 marriage licenses but, only 815 are residents of Iowa. The rest traveled from surrounding states.  Of the couples getting married in Iowa, 728 were gay, and 1,292 were lesbian.

 Washington DC is reporting similar findings. The District of Columbia is reporting that with the legalization of same sex marriage, the district is headed towards issuing four times as many marriage licenses this year than in 2009, reports WTOP News. The large spike in numbers comes after same sex marriage went into effect in March.

 Both Iowa and Washington DC are destinations for same sex couples to take a trip to and say “I do.” They are the first regions in their surrounding areas to allow same sex marriage causing the recent flood of couples.