Recession hits pockets of wedding industry hard

The door opening at Ellie's Bridal Boutique alerts Marie Simpson to the first customer of the day. Simpson watches closely as a woman casually eyes the array of dresses hanging in the crowded wedding boutique. Simpson, manager of Elle's Bridal Boutique since its opening in 2004, knows the look of a satisfied customer.Normally, that look would have resulted into a sure wedding gown sell. But not this time. Instead, the would be customer pulls out her cell phone, snaps a picture, and quickly exits, leaving Simpson in frustration. The struggling economy has just cost Ellie's Bridal Boutique, a small boutique in Alexandria, Va., a sale.

"This economy is really hurting small businesses, including those of us in the wedding industry," Simpson laments. "People are bypassing us and taking pictures of the dresses that they want and going to fabric stores and online to buy dresses. I wish they would stop that."

Simpson's sentiments are shared by dozens of other small business in the DC metro area barely surviving what is normally the two busiest months for weddings and wedding sales, June and July. Job lay-offs, job cuts, and mortgage payments, are forcing couples to cut spending, even if it that means cutting corners on one of biggest emotional investments: weddings.

"Just a year ago, we didn't have these problems," Simpson wallowed in nolstagia. "But now, customers are being more cautious on how they spend their money. As a result our sales are declining."

Anacostia resident Megan Jackson is one Washingtonian whose wedding plans took a hit from the declining economy. Twenty six-year-old Jackson and her 29-year-old fiancé Jared became engaged last year, two days after her birthday on April 10th. The couple had set a wedding date for June 6th this year.

To Jackson it was supposed to be a dream come true. She was finally about to have the wedding she had been dreaming of since she was a little girl. That is until the wedding expenses began rolling in.

"The wedding expenses were getting ridiculous!" said Jackson. "After factoring in catering, a DJ, my dress, my bridesmaids' dresses, the tuxes, flowers, decorations, a location and all of the other small things that come up, I was looking at over $15,000!"

Neither she nor her fiancé could afford that and still continue to pay their apartment rent and car note. "So we had to go less traditional and more creative," she sighed.

The Jackson's "creative" wedding involved cost-cutting methods such as family members cooking the food, making alterations to a less expensive dress, and moving the location to her childhood church. Instead of $15,000, the Jacksons coughed up around $8,000.

Although far different from the elaborate affair she planned a year ago, the result remained the same. On June 6th she went from being engaged to married.

"The wedding was still beautiful without all of the elaborate decorations I originally wanted and we saved so much money," said Jackson.

On average, couples in the DC area spend between $27,384 and $45,641 on weddings with 41% having traditional weddings in good economic times. But these are harsh economic times and the wedding industry is responding with its own creative ways to spare newlyweds from economic disaster.

For example, popular U Street florist, Lee's Flowers, famous for its beautiful floral arrangements at weddings and even presidential inaugurations, offers a "recession buster" sale. Store employees declined to tell how the "recession buster" initiative is enhancing their bottom line, but there was a constant stream of customers coming in and out.

Brides and grooms are also migrating to low-cost wedding venues to exchange their vows.

"More people are jumping on the bandwagon and going with what's cheap as opposed to using their family ministers", said Rev. Starlene Joyner Burns, Maryland wedding minister and Maryland officiant, in Bowie, Md. Rev. Burns is making a living solemnizing low-cost marriages even before the recession.

Burns, who has been marrying couples at Chapel of Love Ministries for the last six years, performs weddings at any couple's site of choice, including homes.

She said the economy has not cut into the number of marriages taking place, couples are only more cautious and find more cost-efficient ways to get hitched.

"People may not be doing as much for weddings as they did in the past, but they are still getting married," said Burns, who even encourages couples to save money by eloping.