Bring on the Recessionista Brides!
We just posted a new article all about Modern Wedding Budget-Cutting Ideas by expert Deena M. Amato-McCoy.
She spoke to wedding professionals and "real brides" alike to discover how resourceful brides-to-be are getting creative and finding ways to save money and still throw the wedding of their dreams.
The Consumerist is offering some extreme wedding planning cost-cutting measures, like:
dinner = ordering Chinese takeout
entertainment = friends serenading you
We don't approve, of course, but neither do they really: it's a fun and silly read if you're feeling overwhelmed by your planning and feel like screaming 'Oh, forget it!' One look at their list, and you'll remember how important taking the time to plan is!
Check out this article from the Los Angeles Times about tv producer Marni Druliner's wedding planing. She's shopping through David's Bridal for her gown and trying to figure out how to plan the wedding she wants with an ever-shrinking budget (sound familiar?).
It probably should, given the economic trends it mentions:
Scaled back, downgraded, digitized and homespun, weddings are getting a major economic makeover this year. While the number of weddings scheduled to take place in the U.S. in 2009 remains steady at 2.2 million, a recent "What's on Brides' Minds" survey conducted for gown emporium David's Bridal found that 75% of brides-to-be said they would have to make adjustments to their wedding budget as a result of the economic climate. The average cost of a couple's publicly traded "I do's" is now $19,212, down 33% from its peak of $28,732 in 2007, according to the Tucson-based research firm the Wedding Report.
Do you know what’s crazier than planning one wedding? Planning two! And buying a house! And working! Sure, why not? Modern liberated women and all that.
We are indeed planning two weddings. Last week, my fellow Real Bride Blogger said that she was not happy about cutting her guest list. And I know how she feels. Jonathon and I started with a wish list of all the people we would love to invite to the wedding and came up with approximately 400 people. (Big families, lots of friends.) But with our $8,000 budget (yes I said it and I’ll break it all down for you soon), we couldn’t afford to have anything else if we came up with this many people to feed. We would spend $8,000 of food?! What about invitations, a dress, a tux, you know places to sit?
So, we decided to carefully decide on 60 of our nearest and dearest friends and family. It was hard, but we did it. And we started planning an eco-friendlier, lush, budget friendly wedding. And then, we remembered all those people who got left out and felt a pang of regret. But modern liberated women can have everything they want! Right? Well, yes with sacrifice.
We opted to throw a vow renewal on New Years Day (2 weeks post wedding). Now, it’s super informal at Mr. J’s family church (undecorated), with a potluck Southern Sunday after church style meal that our friends, family, and we cook for. The budget for that? $50 church fee. The guest list? 400.
The economy on everyone's minds these days, but for many brides-to-be the cost of her wedding will not be effected. At a Bridal Expo in Illinois this weekend parents were happy to state just how little an effect the economic downturn would have on their wedding plans.
Is our economy's downturn effecting your plans?
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