MASON CITY, IA - 2010’s starting out to be a rollercoaster ride for Dianne Brandau. In January she lost her job, just a month later she found herself engaged. Now the bride has about five months to plan for her big day with less to spend than she had hoped.
“I only having one income now…it…it hurts.”
But like many other brides, Dianne is looking at ways she can trim her budget.
“I would think that brides have to take that into consideration not having a job or the economy as it is right now.”
For Dianne she’s keeping her budget around $10 thousand.
“I just decided what I wanted to spend the most money on and allowed the most budget to be there. In my case my dress was probably the most important to me.”
Across the country wedding costs average more than 19 thousand dollars. That’s down from a 2007 high of almost thirty grand. Even though the amount couples spend is different people are obviously still getting hitched at about the same rate. One factor for newlyweds is that they are looking to pay the bill themselves.
“When it’s coming out of your pocket you kind of think more conservative because you don’t have someone else to turn to, to pay for it.”
More couples footing the bill, means conservative weddings are gaining in popularity. Still, couples like Dianne and her fiancé are getting some help from mom and dad.
“Our parents are helping us out a little bit with the reception because that’s the biggest cost. But other than that we’re trying to do it on our own as much as possible.”
Those in the wedding business say most brides are sticking to their budget. In fact, many are even over-estimating costs. Angie Lien, the owner of Formalities in Mason City says that isn’t a bad thing.
“They’re pretty good. I have a lot of girls that come in with their budget being way higher than what my dresses even cost so then they’re real happy when they see it’s a …$200 less than we even budgeted.”
Spending less on the dress, she says, means the money can be spent on other things.
“They’ve come in with a set price of what their budget is for the wedding gown and then depending on what they spend on that it how they go about what they’re going to spend on veil and shoes and jewelry.”
Dianne says the venue and reception are still the greatest costs; feeding guests can even get up to $40 a plate. But depending on the day of your event, Dianne says, brides can find some good deals.
“If you have a Friday wedding a lot of the local vendors give you discounts and so that’s the route we’re going and I know the venue we’re having the reception you get 10% of the total bill.”
Laura Helle, the Executive Director of the Hormel Historic Home, says when wedding couples book with them they don’t necessarily have to worry about flowers or decorations.
“A lot of decorations aren’t needed you don’t need to bring a lot of flowers of Christmas lights or anything like that to dress up the place because it already looks very polished and very beautiful.”
She says they even provide a free rehearsal night if you book your event Saturday. For the bride and groom who are late planners it might work out to your advantage.
“When you’re six weeks out I know what my calendar is going to be and, I can negotiate more and give you a better value. I have a date that I thought was going to be open now I can fill it with something.”
Creating new traditions may help bring down the bill. Dianne is trading flowers for a parasol. Lien and the staff at formalities are finding that brides are moving away from classic wedding ideals.
“Girls are doing color in their wedding gowns so the match the color of their bridesmaids and another thing is a lot of outdoor weddings this year.”
She says more than 60 % of the summer weddings they help design are out doors. But whatever traditions are kept most agree it’s all about the meaning of the celebration.
For Dianne, it’s not about the money it’s getting a wedding that will make her day special, and having plenty of time to plan it.
“I lost my job, but the one good thing is I have plenty of time to plan for the wedding.”
