2007 Wedding Trend

Some wedding trends are obvious. Like the big hair of the nineteen eighties. Like the trend away from all white wedding cakes to cakes full of color. Or this year's trend toward accessorizing the cake with cake jewelry. Like personalizing a wedding cake iced in white fondant by having it delivered a day early (this will cost you in freshness) and hiring an artist whose work you admire to paint directly on the white fondant (using edible paints of course which can be obtained through a baking supply store). These are obvious trends in the world of weddings.

Some wedding trends are a little less obvious. For example, for years despite the fact that most couples chose to marry on a Saturday there have always been a few who would choose to marry on other days.

My husband's grandparents, for example, chose to marry on a Sunday right after church. Instead of dismissing the congregation at the end of the service, the pastor simply announced they would be having a wedding and asked the bride to step down out of the choir loft as the groom stepped to the front. It was simple. It was green wedding (since no one wasted extra fuel to get there), whatever other opinion we might have about the option.

But this year there have been a marked increase in weddings held on days other than Saturday. Why this wedding trend? I can only speculate. I know that many wedding venues offer greatly reduced fees on days other than Saturdays. I know this is one of the reasons. I've seen websites that advocate getting married on Friday night to save money on the wedding. But do you really? In some situations you might, but such a choice almost limits you to the bigger, more expensive florists, photographers, planners, and pastry chefs because the individuals who intentionally limit their practice to what they can do outside a day job to preserve the joy of the craft are quite often unavailable do to the need to make a living at a different job.

Another cost of this trend of non-Saturday wedding is the simple fact that not only do some professionals intentionally limit their practice and have to work - but most, if not all, of your guests do to and if anyone has to travel a wedding anytime other than Saturday might not be practical for them to be able to get to and from your wedding

I know that people often have their own personal reason for choosing the date - like the desire to share an anniversary date with a parent or sibling. And if your reason is personal, go for it. Just recognize that every choice has it's cost and you are better off weighing all the costs before you make your choice.

A Couple Budget Trimming Suggestions

Most of the time brides could trim their budget substantially if they just took the time to understand the individual disciplines of the wedding business a little better. It's a tall order, I know, but it can be done with a little reading and a little creative thought.

Let me illustrate this point with two examples:

First, I will start with wedding cakes. Did you know that you can hold down the cost of a wedding cake by choosing white icing? The reason is that icing has to be colored by hand. It's not a complicated process but it is a long and tedious process. So if you want color accents on your cake, choose fresh flowers, or ribbons rather than paying your for your pastry chef's time and labor coloring icing. Likewise, choose butter cream icing instead of fondant which will run you about thirty percent more.

Likewise, consider those disposable cameras you see so often at weddings. They can be a great benefit to your wedding memories since you can get some great shots sometimes that you wouldn't get any other way. After all, your photographer can't be everywhere at once... They also offer the added benefit of offering your guests inexpensive entertainment since there is always one in the crowd who is a shutterbug waiting to be released and there are always more than a few looking for their moment of fame. But...

... if you are looking to save money, consider recruiting a half dozen of your friends that you've been looking for a way to involve in your wedding and who have digital camera's (these days nearly everyone has one of some sort) that they can use at your reception and commission them to go around snapping pictures of your guests at your reception. Afterwards, when you get home from your honeymoon, you can have a party with these close friends when you can upload all of your "unofficial" reception photo's onto CD's that you can keep and print at your convenience.

That's just a couple of ideas within the many disciplines that come together to makeup a wedding day. If you just take a little time to learn about the various disciplines and ask where the cost in each discipline is (hint; it's rarely in the physical ingredients) then with a little creative thought and some common sense you will usually be able to find ways to cut costs and control your wedding budget.