Economic downturn takes some gloss off of weddings

Many brides, grooms cutting corners to save money

Rebecca Stamilio, left, photographs her friend Erin Robertson as they shop for wedding dresses during the Running

? The fairytale weddings that many couples have yearned for are starting to come back down to earth – leveled by everyday problems like house payments and rising gasoline and food bills.

The wedding industry has long been considered one of most recession-proof. Most brides, grooms and their parents see the “big day” as a once-in-a-lifetime event not to be skimped on. But unlike Cinderella and Prince Charming, who didn’t have to worry about a mortgage on the castle, more couples are finding it hard to swallow the average pricetag of items like wedding cakes (about $500), bridal gowns (around $1,300) and flowers (near $2,000).

“Every girl dreams about their wedding day,” said Rebecca Stamilio, who braved the February chill and the crowds at Filene’s Basement’s bridal sale in New York to find a gown. “But at the same time, you’re like, oh my gosh – I could pay off this much of my mortgage.”

Stamilio, a 30-year-old physics instructor at Edgecombe Community College in Tarboro, N.C., found a long, simple, white gown for $249 that was originally $1,600.

“I just don’t want to be in debt,” she said.

Cutting corners

Many other couples apparently share that sentiment and are cutting some corners as they put their weddings together. Wedding trend tracker The Wedding Report Inc. estimates the average cost of a wedding will dip slightly this year to $28,704, compared with $28,732 in 2007.

That runs counter to the trend of the past 15 years, when wedding spending has nearly doubled, according to Conde Nast data.

Tammy Elliot, president of the Perfect Wedding Guide wedding planning Web site, noted that the market is growing quickly because of the children of baby boomers.

Spending on the actual ceremony and the rehearsal dinner appear to be up this year, according to The Wedding Report data, while outlays for the reception and rings are declining.

It’s important to note that the data includes inflation, so with food, energy and metals prices on the rise, many couples are really getting less for their dollar. The wholesale price of gold is up more than 30 percent from a year ago, while platinum is up more than 50 percent, and retailers are having to pass these increases on to consumers.

New trends

With costs surging, some new wedding trends are sprouting.

Liene Stevens, a consultant at the wedding and event planner Blue Orchid Designs, said she’s noticing couples opting for more do-it-yourself wedding items, such as table centerpieces. They’re also planning more brunch and afternoon weddings so that they can shell out less for food and alcohol.

Erin Robertson and her family are willing to budget as much as $30,000 for her upcoming wedding, but Robertson went bargain shopping with Stamilio at Filene’s Basement for her dress. She ended up with a $730 ivory silk dress, tax included, that was originally $3,500.

Another popular way for newlyweds to save is tweaking or rethinking their honeymoons (an expenditure that is not included in The Wedding Report’s annual spending estimates).

Barb Maxwell, who specializes in honeymoon vacations at the travel agency Viking Travel, said requests for European trips have sharply declined over the past several months, and that couples are increasingly choosing packages that include extra benefits and amenities, like free breakfast. The declining dollar, which makes travel abroad more expensive, also has been adjusting couples’ honeymoon plans.

Business shifts

With brides and grooms looking for ways to pare wedding budgets, retailers and planners are noticing some business shifts.

Anna Podore, a buyer for Filene’s Basement’s wedding dress sale, said moderate-price bridal retailers are not selling quite as many dresses as in the past and, as a result, have more inventory to sell to Filene’s at marked-down prices.

Brides in the market for dresses over $3,000 appear resilient to the economic downturn, Podore said, but mid-range dresses – $1,000 to $2,000 – seem to be finding fewer takers.

Brides are also cutting back on extras. Lauren Walling, marketing director of Catalina & Co., a small bridal gown shop in Brooklyn, said that although orders for designs and alterations keep increasing, orders for cleaning and preservation have declined.

“Higher-end venues and vendors are going to have to reposition themselves as things tighten up,” the Perfect Wedding Guide’s Elliot said. And for smaller players in the wedding business, “it’s going to be hard to compete.”

Of course, many couples – some even from middle-class families – are still paying well over $100,000 for their weddings. And although wedding spending appears to be plateauing right now, most experts expect it to resume its climb.

“Remember, it’s the dream,” Elliot said. “Many will spend on the dream in good times and in bad.”