Is the Bad News Economy Affecting Your Wedding Plans?

If the answer is "yes," you're not alone. Eileen Connelly, AP Financial Writer, reports that many couples are postponing or scaling down their wedding plans due to recession pressures.

Dream weddings get caught up in economic nightmare

NEW YORK — Maria Ayson and Nolan Green Jr. should be married by now.

The couple set a date, picked their reception hall, bought the dress, booked the photographer and ordered the cake for a Saturday last August. Then came the bad news.

"When he got laid off, we were kind of caught with our pants down," said Ayson.

Rather than trying to plan a wedding while Green was looking for a new job in electronics retailing, the couple decided to push their date back a whole year. Ayson said putting off the "was the best thing for our sanity and for ourselves." Especially since his new job forced a move to Los Angeles, while she remained in San Francisco.

The delay until Aug. 9, 2009, also gave them time to rethink their wedding plans and try to find ways to scale back the party, without sacrificing on the celebration.

That's a step that countless couples are taking, as economic reality confronts one of consumer culture's most cherished institutions, the dream wedding.



Read it