Josephine Loong and Greg Eakins stood together Sunday in the crowded Le Jardin banquet room and restaurant inside the Cantigny Park visitor’s center. Their hands were full of business cards from flower vendors, DJs and wedding planners, along with samples of ice cream and Italian beef. In front of them were elaborate table settings with tall centerpieces and bright linens.
The couple, both 25, got engaged in October, and the bridal show at the Wheaton center was the first one they attended. Many of their wedding details are still uncertain, though they know they want a spring 2013 ceremony with about 200 people.
Admittedly, they were a bit overwhelmed.
But like most couples in today’s economy, one thing is certain: They have a budget. According to the Wedding Report, a research company focusing solely on the industry, wedding spending was down 3.4 percent between 2011 and 2010. Some areas with the biggest decreases were gifts for attendants, wedding bands, the rehearsal dinner, engagement announcements and gifts for parents.
Despite the money squeeze that couples often face, many are still finding ways to make the most of their big day — budget or no budget.
For Loong and Eakins, staying on budget means figuring out what they can and can’t live without. From attending friends’ weddings, the couple knows they don’t need traditional, big centerpieces. The bigger the centerpiece, the harder it is to have a conversation at round tables, Loong said. In fact, the couple plans on making their own. Another thing they plan to skip are chair coverings.
“They look nice,” Loong said. “But at the end of the night, no one remembers them.”
After doing some research, mostly online, Eakins said their wedding budget is already 30 percent higher than what they originally wanted to spend. But some of the essentials the couple is not willing to sacrifice are food and drinks, as well as photographs.
“Having good pictures is really important,” she said. “It’s really the pictures that capture the moment.”
How to get more for your dollar
Denise Pape of Naperville-based Weddings by Denise said one of the biggest cost-cutting trends is do-it-yourself. She said many couples are choosing to create their own place cards for tables and centerpieces.
“Everybody is on a budget now,” she said.
Even so, the wedding business has not suffered as much as other industries, and some financial experts even call it “recession proof.”
Josephine Loong and Greg Eakins stood together Sunday in the crowded Le Jardin banquet room and restaurant inside the Cantigny Park visitor’s center. Their hands were full of business cards from flower vendors, DJs and wedding planners, along with samples of ice cream and Italian beef. In front of them were elaborate table settings with tall centerpieces and bright linens.
The couple, both 25, got engaged in October, and the bridal show at the Wheaton center was the first one they attended. Many of their wedding details are still uncertain, though they know they want a spring 2013 ceremony with about 200 people.
Admittedly, they were a bit overwhelmed.
But like most couples in today’s economy, one thing is certain: They have a budget. According to the Wedding Report, a research company focusing solely on the industry, wedding spending was down 3.4 percent between 2011 and 2010. Some areas with the biggest decreases were gifts for attendants, wedding bands, the rehearsal dinner, engagement announcements and gifts for parents.
Despite the money squeeze that couples often face, many are still finding ways to make the most of their big day — budget or no budget.
For Loong and Eakins, staying on budget means figuring out what they can and can’t live without. From attending friends’ weddings, the couple knows they don’t need traditional, big centerpieces. The bigger the centerpiece, the harder it is to have a conversation at round tables, Loong said. In fact, the couple plans on making their own. Another thing they plan to skip are chair coverings.
“They look nice,” Loong said. “But at the end of the night, no one remembers them.”
After doing some research, mostly online, Eakins said their wedding budget is already 30 percent higher than what they originally wanted to spend. But some of the essentials the couple is not willing to sacrifice are food and drinks, as well as photographs.
“Having good pictures is really important,” she said. “It’s really the pictures that capture the moment.” How to get more for your dollar
Denise Pape of Naperville-based Weddings by Denise said one of the biggest cost-cutting trends is do-it-yourself. She said many couples are choosing to create their own place cards for tables and centerpieces.
“Everybody is on a budget now,” she said.
Even so, the wedding business has not suffered as much as other industries, and some financial experts even call it “recession proof.”
Flowers can be a big part of a wedding budget, and Marla Johnstone, designer at Wallflower Designs in Batavia, has seen some budget-friendly flower trends. Carnations are not usually thought of as a wedding flower, but they come in all sorts of colors and can fill in an arrangement so fewer expensive flowers are needed, she said. Another trend she’s seen is couples re-using flowers from the ceremony for the reception. For example, some couples are using bridesmaids bouquets on placecard tables instead of buying new arrangements.
In the vein of do-it-yourself, Johnstone’s also seen a more rustic, chic look start to make an appearance in wedding décor. This includes using mismatched vases that couples find for cheap at local flea markets.
Some vendors are also offering different billing options to help ease the sticker shock of paying for everything at once. Kyle Overbey of Sounds Abound Entertainment in Naperville said the company offers a payment plan that allows couples to pay online before their wedding day so they can split the cost into more manageable installments.
From entertainment to makeup and photography to flowers, wedding vendors seem to understand that many couples are on a budget. For young brides and grooms-to-be, such as Eakins and Loong, figuring out what they’re willing to skip and what they have to have often makes sticking to a budget easier without having to sacrifice the notion of a perfect wedding.
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