Sunday, January 24, 2010
For richer, for poorer, wedding industry thrives
Recessions and boom times barely affect the number of ceremonies.
Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times
Brooke Vigroito models a wedding gown at the Greater Virginia Bridal Show last week at the Taubman Museum of Art in Roanoke.
Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Amanda Finck (from left), 20, and Sandi and Bob Finck of Salem meet with Jim Taetz, design consultant and owner of The Crystal Orchid Flower Shoppe Inc., and wedding planner Stephanie Hughes.
Stephanie Klein-Davis | The Roanoke Times
Sam Dean | The Roanoke Times
Penny Whitmer descibes her cakes to soon-to-be bride Jennifer Madden and her mother Linda Madden at the bridal show sponsored by Virginia Bride Magazine at the Taubman Museum.
The latest from The Ticker blog
For soon-to-be-bride Ashley Morgan, cost isn't crushing her wedding day dreams.
The 21-year-old Radford University student plans to marry Jeremy McLaughlin, 24, of Radford, in July. Morgan has a wedding planner, caterer, linen and china rentals, florist, a cake, photographer, DJ and her dress lined up, and 300 guests invited.
Her parents' budget: $25,000.
"My mom had a smaller wedding. She wants to make sure I had everything she didn't," Morgan said while she and wedding planner Stephanie Hughes waited to meet with Center Stage Catering in Rocky Mount.
After slow years in 2008 and 2009, businesspeople serving the wedding industry have reason for champagne toasts again because of couples such as McLaughlin and Morgan.
More couples have begun planning their weddings earlier, and they're less willing to try do-it-yourself options on the big day, said David Wood, president of the Association of Bridal Consultants, the world's largest training organization for wedding planners.
"So much is driven by the perception of economic reality," Wood said. "People are confident that by the summertime they will have what they need."
Bookings have increased 20 percent to 30 percent for wedding planners this year compared with 2009, Wood added.
"Sometimes we're the splurge, so it's nice to be the splurge of the wedding," Hughes said. "They'll spend the money on the wedding planner, so we can help them save on other things."
Hughes, a 27-year-old Blacksburg native who coordinates weddings in the Roanoke Valley, New River Valley and Northern Virginia as Diamond Events, has booked more weddings earlier this year, she said.
She planned 23 weddings -- 11 in Southwest Virginia -- last year, and has booked 15 for 2010. She wants to hire a full-time employee and an intern from Virginia Tech, and to rent an office in Roanoke this year. Her services cost from $595 for day-of-wedding coordination to as much as $4,000 for brides requesting unlimited hours of planning.
Diamond Events already has booked three weddings on May 22, and three more on July 3 and 4, Hughes said.
"I've gotten quite a few weddings, and have made this my full-time job instead of having two full-time jobs," the former engineer and salesperson said.
Hughes' weddings haven't become more extravagant, though. In 2007 and earlier, she regularly planned parties for almost 200 guests. Now, wedding guests are more likely to number 120 to 150 to cut expenses, she said.
John Schopp, owner of Center Stage Catering Inc. and Edible Vibe Cafe in Rocky Mount, hasn't seen the bridal business bounce back heartily either.
"People are still getting married," he said. "They're still spending their money there, but they're cutting back on food."
Before the recession, couples often spent $10,000 to $20,000 or more with Center Stage, he said. Now, Schopp's wedding gigs are $2,000 to $10,000. Clients' cutbacks have pulled Center Stage's catering sales down about $200,000 since 2005, to $250,000 last year.
Schopp and his wife, Karen, who is the catering manager, are planning a gourmet buffet for McLaughlin and Morgan's reception at Vinton War Memorial Hall, tailored to the couple's family heritages and personal tastes. Schopp declined to give the cost of what they proposed.
Couples' spending on wedding ceremonies and receptions may fluctuate with the national economy, but recessions and boom times barely affect the number of weddings.
The Wedding Report Inc., a market research company, estimates 2.23 million U.S. weddings in 2010, an increase of about 1 percent from the year before, and about 3 percent from 2008.
"People in love are always going to get married," said Chad Amrhein, general manager of Amrhein's Brides, Formals and Fine Jewelry in Roanoke County. "They may cut back on their spending, but the business itself is always there."
Amrhein said his sales for engagement rings have stayed about the same in the last four years, while wedding band sales have increased slightly.
The Rev. Karen Sue Osborne, an interfaith wedding officiant for-hire from Floyd, is impressed with the number of wedding inquiries she's had since Thanksgiving, she said. Her business, Ceremonies for All, has grown every year since she began officiating in 2006.
Fifteen couples have scheduled ceremonies with her for 2010, and another 15 have inquired, she said, with most couples finding her online or through referrals. Last year she had two couples booked by January.
"Love is in the air, I'd like to think," she said.
Still, the wedding business isn't enough to be her sole source of income, and she continues to run a bed and breakfast, fitness center and massage service.
