Saying ‘I do’ for less

When Emily Newman of Atlanta was planning her 2007 nuptials, she knew her $6,000 dream dress by designer Monique Lhuillier was a little beyond her price range. So she searched until she found it on eBay for $2,500.

After the wedding, Newman, 23, was hoping to sell the dress. Dissatisfied with the options, she started a Web site to link brides-to-be with slightly worn dresses. Her gown sold for the same price she had paid for it, and a new business was born.

As the economy has declined, activity on her site www.oncewed.com has boomed with 1 million page views a month, 20 new listings a day, more than 2,000 gowns available and about 800 sold in the past year. “Wedding dresses are a lot more expensive than they were 10 or 15 years ago, and women are a lot more practical,” Newman said. “They don’t want to go into debt for their wedding … the economy is making people think about where they are spending their money.”

Well, make that some people.

Brides-to-be tend to fall in one of two categories, say industry experts: those who plan to spend whatever cash they have earmarked for their weddings and those who are more willing to make adjustments to save.

Overall, wedding spending has increased in recent years, but about 40 percent of brides say they have reduced their wedding budgets in 2009 in response to economic changes, according to the 2008 Real Weddings Survey from wedding Web site, The Knot.

In Georgia, where the average wedding costs $26,154, several thousand dollars below the national average, brides spent more on receptions, event planners and videography in 2008 than in the previous year.

Demi Sturgis, 34, of North Augusta, S.C., said she plans to stick to her $20,000 budget. But if she is forced to scale back her April 2010 wedding, she’ll start by using DIY items such as invitations and other paper elements. As a last resort, she would trim her guest list, she said.

Wedding experts say Sturgis is on track. “It sounds terrifying to some people, but [cutting the guest list] is the best way to really cut the fat out of your budget,” said Anja Winikka, editor at TheKnot.com. Along with the more practiced ways of slimming wedding spending —- holding the wedding during off-season or off-hours —- brides are also reducing the size of the band or getting creative with food options.

“I’m really just trying to get the best prices,” said Amy Tittiger, 23, of Suwanee. “Our budget is $7,000, but I’m trying to make it $6,000. That will give me an extra $1,000 in case I need to put it somewhere else. Of course, if I don’t use it all, I’ll be happy.”

Tittiger, who is getting married in May 2010, definitely doesn’t plan to spend any extra money on her gown. “I’m looking for a dress that fits and is inexpensive. I am only going to be wearing it for one day. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars.”

Dresses can run up to 10 percent of the total wedding budget, but many brides are seeking prices well below that. With options ranging from once-worn gowns sold online to deals on designer brands at consignment stores, it’s not an impossible mission.

Sarah Keener, 28, of Brookhaven is getting married in August. She took her chances at the annual Running of the Brides at Filene’s Basement. Her group of seven camped out overnight. When the doors opened, they grabbed armfuls of dresses, about 60 to 70 in all, which they sat on until Keener could try on each one. In just under two hours, she scored a $270 dress that needs only a few alternations.

Add that to the savings from Keener’s decision to make all of the decorations for her beach wedding in the Florida Panhandle, and she should come in under her $10,000 budget. “I am a bargain shopper, but I definitely think the economy has had an impact. I’m not a fan of spending a gazillion dollars for one day.”

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