Tennille Stokes started planning more than a year ahead of her wedding so that she wouldn't have to draw from her savings.
She's nixed a limo, planned the ceremony and reception in one location and reduced her guest list from 250 to 100 - and even contemplated a smaller ceremony with only a dozen people at one point.
"I don't need a lot of flowers, I don't need a big DJ," said the Northeast Baltimore resident, engaged since April, as she perused the exhibits at yesterday's Baltimore Bridal Show with maid of honor Tenille Ross.
Some of the brides, like Stokes, remained firmly rooted in economic reality even as they and hundreds of others strolled through the dream-oriented displays at the Marriott Waterfront. They were already looking to life after the wedding - looming house payments and other necessities that would be placing demands on their bank accounts.
But for others, tough times have done little to dim their radiant plans.
"Weddings are a vibrant industry whenever," said Marc McIntosh, the show's producer, who organized the 130-vendor event at the hotel. The show follows one that McIntosh put on at the convention center in Baltimore in February.
Weddings being planned now often have been budgeted for a year or two, unaffected by recent economic developments, he added.
Still, McIntosh said, there might be some cost-cutting in light of the economy's current state: opting for a $20 entree instead of one for $22, or spending 90 percent of what one would normally have budgeted. He recalled one reception venue saying more people were booking on Fridays and Sundays, instead of the popular Saturday.
"Wedding planning is economy-proof - brides are going to spend the money," said Deborah Joy Block, who runs Wedding Dance Specialists in Alexandria, Va., with her husband, Brian. "They want to remember their wedding as a great day."
Surrounded by virtually every possible facet of that special day - DJs and live bands, cakes and stationery, makeup and hair artists, florists and photographers, even exotic bedroom toys and lingerie - the brides-to-be might have struggled to cling to fiscal responsibility.
But Cynthia Wilson of Mount Washington, who explored booths with her sister Crystal and friends, used the event to look for ideas.
"We have to live after May 2," said Wilson, referring to her wedding date. So she and her entourage were scoping out ways to do certain things, such as favors, themselves - at a lower price.
