Wedding trends of 2009.

There has been a recent trend in wedding blogging that seems to reflect the current economic state. That trend? We all seem to want nice weddings for less money.

Here's a fun exercise to do. Call up a limo rental place, ask how much a limo would be for your wedding day, I'm willing to bet it's well over a few hundred dollars. Then a couple of days later call up and ask how much a limo would be for a pick up to go to a sporting event or something of the sort, was it a less? Probably.

It's incredibly frustrating that as soon as you throw the word "wedding" into the mix suddenly that gives vendors the right/ability to jack up the prices. Is it because they know that there is a breed of bride that will not even blink when they are told their bouquet of calla lilies will cost 200 dollars? If I sent my sick aunt the same amount of callas but not wrapped in a silk ribbon I bet it would be more like 50-75 dollars.


Now I know that there is extra time and detail and not to mention talent spent on wedding items such as cakes and flowers but if your even the tiniest bit resourceful or know someone who is (and we all seem to know one person at the very least who is skilled and crafty like that!) then why are we paying top dollar for the same-ish end result? I know that vendors fees are also based on talent and there are some really awesomely talented vendors out there, but if all I want is a simple white buttercream icing cake with some flowers on top why am I being charged hundreds of dollars just because it doesn't say Happy Birthday?

Image from Martha Stewart

Seriously take the flowers off this cake...how much do you think it would be? Add a really awesome topper or some flowers on top and instantly it goes from birthday to wedding.

So strange.

I used to buy and arrange flowers for an office I worked at. For 80 dollars tops in winter I would buy enough flowers for two GIANT arrangements. I'm planning on doing a DIY photo series on this blog because frankly ladies I've had it up to here with paying more because we want to have the weddings we want.

As well I think there is a lot of pressure to use conventional vendors. When planning a wedding think about the weddings you've been to. Do you really remember the organza overlay on the table? The ornate 5 tiered wedding cake? I'll admit I only remember ONE wedding cake from all the weddings I've been to and I was in the wedding party so I actually was more involved in the wedding than a guest. Favors? Same thing. I remember a couple of them but more often than not I can't. The ones I do remember were always the most cost effective..cd's, homemade cookies, homemade soaps.

What I do remember is the ceremony, the food(good and bad.), the music, the love and the fun. Everything else? I'm not going to say it's a waste of money but I think there are ways we can all be cutting costs without cutting style. We just all have to start thinking outside the prettily wrapped wedding industry box.