Hurricane Ike: How Brides can cut cost

In the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, many Houstonian Brides are running into financial challenges from being out of work, temporarily displaced from their homes and financially assisting relatives.

With this in mind, I wanted to share a very helpful article I read today from Gina Curtis, creator of wedding-genie.com:

There are some wedding planers who have created a "do-it-yourself bridal planning package." For a much smaller fee, brides will meet with a wedding planer and have a conversation about budgeting and expectations. The consultant will then create a package for the bride that will serve as her road map as she plans the wedding herself.

In an effort to cut costs, many are looking for things they can do themselves from creating their own wedding invitations and table centerpieces to full on decorations for both the ceremony and reception sites. Also brides are looking at wedding venues that have natural beauty within and do not require any additional decorations to make the wedding beautiful.

Another way brides have been scaling down is by choosing wedding flowers that are both local and in season versus importing them. The size of both the bridal bouquet and the bridesmaids' bouquets has also shrunk. In years past, many brides carried gorgeous, flowing cascading bouquets while today, many brides are opting for smaller bouquets. The size of the bridesmaids' bouquets has also shrunk and in many cases they carry just a few flowers wrapped in ribbon.

Wedding Photography is an area where couples are cutting costs. Videography is now often seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. Also, instead of hiring a photographer to the tune of a $3,000-$5000, brides are scouring places like Craigslist for photographers that may not have a lot of experience and charge quite a bit less. Also with today's technology, couples are opting for their wedding pictures to be placed on a CD where they can print pictures off themselves versus having the photographer do it.

Finally, one of the biggest trends tends to be with the time of the event. Traditionally, the preferred wedding date is Saturday afternoon or evening. Now more brides are opting for Sunday or Friday evening weddings because they can typically catch a financial break on catering costs. Additionally, more brides are looking to host earlier receptions due to the same reasons.

Like many other areas in our current economy, the wedding industry is not immune. Couples may be faced with less available money for their event but that does not mean the wedding can't go on; it just means everyone has to compromise a little and get a lot more creative.

As a planner who caterers to a modern Bride, I love working with the bride who likes to think outside the box to optimize their budget to reach their creative vision. DIY the details is my favorite tool. It truly creates a fresh, unique look to any wedding.