Couples get those wedding day recession blues

Alex Johnson Reporter • Profile

You’re getting married soon, but the economy is in the tank. Maybe that over-the-top wedding isn’t such a good idea.

For the first time this decade, the cost of a wedding — now averaging close to $29,000, according to Wedding Report Inc., which researches trends in the wedding industry — is expected to dip slightly. In these hard times, wedding experts are increasingly dealing with what they call “budget brides.”

“We get a lot of professional girls who are concerned about not wanting to spend a lot of money on a wedding dress,” said Geraldine Brower, owner of the Bridal Garden, an appointment-only wedding boutique in Manhattan. “They’d rather put it towards a down payment on a house.”

Other common tactics include staging the ceremony in a public park and plugging in the iPod rather than hiring a deejay. Another target is food costs.

The National Association of Catering Executives said a survey of its members showed that 48 percent reported that couples were spending less on catering this year. More than 10 percent said they were noticing an increase in wedding cancellations because of the economy.

“Everybody’s looking to save a dollar these days in this economy,” said Heather Lowenthal, an event planner in Jupiter, Fla.

Arden Levine, a rent administrator in New York, found a way to save money on her wedding rings.

“We’re actually melting down my parents’ old wedding rings — which, given the cost of gold these days, is a really cost-efficient solution for us,” said Levine, who is busy planning her wedding to Aaron Dobish in September.

‘Thinking about the dollar’
Left behind is an army of wedding planners, caterers, dress makers, photographers and hall managers whose livelihoods depend on the traditional bigger-is-better attitude.

“We’ve noticed brides taking a little longer to make decisions — maybe hesitating, maybe cutting back on some of the big things they would have done,” said Orie Kambouris, manager of A Bride Beautiful in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Kambouris said that spending usually dipped during an economic downturn but that recent trends were pronounced.

“We definitely see a difference,” she said.

At Alta Moda Bridal Boutique in Salt Lake City, a stronger euro and a weaker dollar are also taking their toll.

“Most of my gowns are made from European textiles — Italian silks, French lace — so the dollar doesn’t buy as many meters of lace as it used to,” owner Hilary Anderson said.

Not even the cake can escape the economy. Cake makers said it was increasingly common for couples to serve sheet cake while displaying a Styrofoam cake for the pictures.

Heather Berntsen, owner of Ambrosia Exquisite Wedding Cakes in Salt Lake City, said brides were still buying, but they weren’t thinking as big as in years past.

“People are thinking about the dollar and what they can get for it,” Berntsen said. “That’s where you see it more: scaling down a little bit, minimizing things, maybe going for a smaller cake.”

Couples left holding the bag
Where it gets cruel is when the cycle completes itself. A combination of the bad times and couples’ penny-pinching is driving many wedding companies and service providers to the brink.

An msnbc.com-NBC News special report The following NBC affiliates contributed to this report: KARE of Minneapolis; KCRA of Sacramento, Calif.; KSL of Salt Lake City, Utah; KXAS of Dallas; WCNC of Charlotte, N.C.; WESH of Orlando, Fla.; WFIE of Evansville, Ind.; WPTV of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and WVIT of Hartford, Conn.

And when they go under, it’s the bride who gets it.

“I ordered a dress, a veil and a tiara,” said Courtney Fish, who paid nearly a thousand dollars for the outfit she planned to wear at her wedding next month but has nothing to show for it after Lori’s Bridal & Formal Wear abruptly closed in Cold Spring, Minn.

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