Making the Happiest Day of Your Life Cost Less
Spring is in the air, and some young men’s--and women’s--fancies have turned to thoughts of love. And marriage. Weddings. Receptions. Expenses. Rip-offs?
According to the authors of a handful of bridal how-to books, the $10-billion wedding industry is rife with fraud and hidden expenses. Some of the rip-offs include dress shops that go out of business taking bridal deposits with them and shopkeepers who urge the bride to order her gown two sizes too big--the better to collect alteration fees. Some reception halls also charge between 50 cents and $3 a pop to open wine bottles and cut the wedding cake--little-known fees that can add up to hundreds of dollars, say Denise and Alan Fields, authors of “Bridal Bargains: Secrets to Throwing a Fantastic Wedding on a Realistic Budget.”
By and large, these are not nickel-and-dime issues. The average couple spends roughly $16,000 on a wedding these days, according to Brides Magazine.
It is not unusual to spend $1,000 on a dress, $30 a plate for a dinner reception, $5 to $10 per person for drinks, upwards of $500 for a photographer or video operator, another $1,000 or so on flowers and thousands more for invitations, music, party favors, shoes, tuxedo rentals, bridesmaid dresses and dozens of other items.
Here are some tips on what to expect, how to save a little money and how to avoid some costly problems.
The area most fraught with peril is buying the wedding dress, according to the Fieldses. Sure, many brides know how to shop. But few are familiar with the concept of ordering a dress based on one that they’ve tried on that was often either far too big or far too small. (Bridal shops typically carry dresses in only “sample” sizes.) Then they pay a good portion of the cost--usually 20% to 50%--and wait for months before it comes in.
If the dress arrives too large, brides may have to pay hundreds of dollars to get it altered. Although most dresses need at least some minor alterations, consumers can limit the cost by taking careful measurements and then asking to see the manufacturer’s size chart. This is important because sizes vary substantially between dressmakers, and they are not likely to be the same as sizes in street clothes.
If the shop refuses to allow you to see the size chart or know who manufactured it, go elsewhere. Some vendors sell cheaply made, copycat dresses or cut out labels to stop consumers from comparison shopping. Both practices smack of deception and should serve as a warning to someone who is about to fork over a large deposit.
About the deposit: The store does need money in advance to ensure you’ll really buy the dress when it comes in. But make sure you pay with a credit card. Why? More than one bridal shop has gone out of business, taking customer deposits with them. If you bought with a credit card, federal consumer protection laws allow individuals to notify the card issuer and get the deposit back. If you paid by check, your chances of getting the money back are far slimmer.
What kind of cost should you anticipate? A plain wedding dress costs between $300 and $600. The hand-beaded designer gown such as the ones you’ve seen in Modern Bride or other specialty magazines might cost from $2,000 to $8,000.
To save some money, brides-to-be might consider consignment and rental shops. These shops are a bit harder to find than more traditional bridal wear stores, but most large cities have at least a few listed in a telephone directory.
At a rental or consignment shop, you’ll probably pay $100 to $400 for the dress and something more to get it altered. Bridesmaid dresses may also be rented for about $50, contrasted with about $150 for those who buy.
But, by far, the largest expense of a wedding is the reception.
Money-saving ideas:
Be careful what hour you wed. Be aware that lunch is almost always less expensive than dinner--even when the menu is the same. Typically, prices are lowered 10% to 15% at this less-popular hour.
Clearly, the least expensive option is to have the reception between the hours of 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. when no meals are expected. One bride, who preferred the atmosphere of a night wedding, opted to hold the ceremony at 8 p.m. That allowed her to skip the expense of an entree and hold a “dessert reception” where guests were offered a wide array of pastries and cakes, drinks and dancing.
Notably too many hotels, restaurants and reception halls have a variety of hidden fees for cake-cutting and the like. Many of the fees are negotiable, Alan Fields said, but you have to initiate the negotiation. And then, whether they’ll be waived probably depends on when you have your wedding.
Wedding services are subject to the laws of supply and demand, Fields said. If your wedding is planned for the last Saturday in June, demand for wedding services is at its peak. Consequently, you have limited bargaining power.
Most importantly, couples should make sure they have details of all wedding arrangements in writing before they start writing checks. Verbal agreements are difficult to enforce, and if it goes to court, they are even more difficult to prove. Make sure you also read each contract so you know whether your photographer can skip your wedding, sending an inexperienced assistant instead, or whether flank steak can be substituted for the prime rib you ordered for the dinner reception.