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E-mail StoryTough economy: Brides making choices about dream weddings
| Saturday, Jun 21 2008 12:54 AM
Last Updated: Wednesday, Jun 25 2008 8:12 AM
TV weddings rarely depict brides creating their own centerpieces, tossing bouquets of artificial flowers and making their own veils.
Photos:
Bride-to-be Eva Soto, with finance Ramon Munoz, is saving money on her wedding by making many of her own decorations, like those filling this box. They will be wed in July.
Stephanie Caughell, owner of Gimmee Some Sugar, works on a cake at her shop downtown. Baker Gabrielle Keen, right, is also busy baking in the kitchen.
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Eva Soto believes her summer wedding will be better because she’s not following the advice of wedding shows.
“With all the money used for gas and food, people don’t have the money for these big weddings you see on TV,” she said. “You can still make your wedding elegant just through decorating and lighting.”
Soto saved more than $4,000 from her original $8,000 budget and is excited to use that money for an extra vacation.
She’s not alone in the quest to find ways to scale back wedding spending in this tough economy, when people are grappling with everything from soaring fuel prices to rising food costs.
“(Couples) are cutting all the way around,” local wedding planner Bernice Campbell said. “Everywhere they can save, they are saving.”
Campbell, who owns Dreams Come True, works with many brides on a budget to scale back their original wedding plans.
She said couples are saving money by using fewer flowers, serving less courses in their catered meal and by making their own invitations, centerpieces and decorations.
Amanda Sanders, owner of A House of Flowers, said she has noticed a decline in flowers being used in centerpieces and as decorations, but she still has a steady stream of bouquet orders. She said couples are more focused on their budget.
Soto cut down on flower costs by using artificial flowers in all the bouquets and decorations. But for another bride, Vicki Garcia, flowers were nonnegotiable.
“There is no way I would cut back on flowers,” Garcia said. “That’s where we spent all our money.”
At the beginning of the process, Vicki and her fiance, Darren Williams, worked with a wedding planner to set a budget of $25,000. But soon after, they realized their dream wedding would balloon to more than $50,000. She partially blames the increase on higher prices for services.
“Almost everything went up a few thousand more than we thought it was going to,” she said.
Her wedding, which includes a s’more bar, cigar bar and chocolate fountain, will cost her parents more, but she said it will be worth it for her special day.
ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
Even as costs to throw a wedding rise, the national average cost of a wedding this year is expected to decline slightly, by $28, to $28,704, according to The Wedding Report, an industry research company.
But in Bakersfield, wedding costs already are 91 percent lower than the national average. Couples usually spend $10,290 to $30,870, according to www.costofwedding.com, a Web site run by The Wedding Report.
Wedding planners nationally have reported a widening supply of consultants and a sliming demand. Professional planner associations worry about the increase of interest in cheaper, non-certified consultants.
“People are not evaluating the value of having an experienced consultant, and they are just going with the cheapest value,” said Ann Nola, director of the Association of Certified Professional Wedding Consultants.
Locally, Chyrill Sandrini said her business, Sandrini Concepts, has not seen a decrease in customers and is finding people want bigger weddings. She attributes this in part to TV wedding shows that show only the best.
RISING COSTS FOR SERVICES
Florists, bakeries, disc jockeys and other businesses with a stake in the industry are struggling to provide quality service at the same price.
While the number of brides who want a wedding cake hasn’t changed, more are worried about prices, said Stephanie Caughell, owner of Gimmee Some Sugar.
“They either come in wanting what they’ve wanted since they were 7 years old, or they come in with a very healthy agenda in regards to budget,” she said.
Costs have risen for staples because of natural disasters, so Caughell has struggled to absorb the costs without raising prices.
Mark Perry, co-owner of Freestyle Entertainment, said he raised prices to compensate for gas to haul equipment to venues.
However, he still has the same volume of clients.
“Milestone occasions typically are going to happen regardless of whether the economy is perceived to be good or bad,” he said.
The effects of the economy might not be felt by some industries yet. At the Petroleum Club of Bakersfield, catering and operations manager Lili Marsh said it is too early to tell because wedding receptions are typically booked a year in advance.
“Moms and dads have known this day is coming for a year now, so they’ve planned accordingly,” she said.
While arranging flowers, Sanders also said she is worried about what the future will bring. People are asking for fewer flowers in their orders.
She said it will be interesting to see what the next year will bring.
“It’s kind of a little cloud over your head waiting to see how it turns out,” she said.
In the end, Soto said she doubts her 150 to 170 guests will be able to tell she’s on a budget.
“When we went to David’s Bridal, I went through and kept saying, ‘Oh, I want a $500 dress or an $800 dress,’ and if I had the money, I would have spent it, but my $300 dress looks just as nice,” she said.
Her main souvenir from the wedding will be the silver archway her husband is welding.
“I am very happy,” she said. “We both have kids and are on a budget, but we managed regardless, and it is just the way I wanted it.”