Wine-country weddings, recession-style

There was a time when Ashley Avlakeotes imagined her Sonoma County wedding would be the stuff of legend — a grand affair in beautiful Wine Country, with no expense spared on flowers, food or setting.

That was before the 23-year-old bride started adding things up.

She found that a dress was $2,000. Cake for her guests, at $6 a slice, was more than $1,000. With a bare minimum of other expenses, including a nice venue, it was difficult to get by for less than $15,000.

When the recession hit, triggering layoffs and foreclosures all around, Avlakeotes realized shelling out big money for a one-day event probably wasn’t the smartest investment. She opted for a more basic wedding that would leave her with money to devote to a down payment on a house.

“I always kind of imagined I’d have this huge thing,” said Avlakeotes, who attended a bridal fair last weekend in Rohnert Park. “Then you get there and see all the costs, and you realize it’s not at all practical.”

While couples are still flocking to Sonoma County to get married, fueling a niche industry of more than $75 million a year, there is evidence that hard economic times are forcing brides to think twice about just how elaborate they want their nuptials to be.

Some caterers report people are skipping high-end menus in favor of simpler, less-expensive fare, while a number of venue managers say they have fewer bookings and less traffic from out-of-state couples.

Nationwide, the trend is toward downsizing, in part because of dwindling income or a reluctance to part with precious savings.

A recent study in a national industry publication, the Wedding Report, said the average spending on weddings fell by 24 percent in 2008, to about $22,000.

“Everyone is looking to save a little,” said Santa Rosa caterer Rob Gronbach, who’s been doing local and “destination” weddings for 19 years. “There’s a lot of apprehension, a lot of foot-dragging.”

Gronbach, co-owner of Pacific Connection, said couples from New York and Chicago just aren’t calling him this year.

“Fewer people want to get on a plane,” he said.

In the local market, customers are taking more time to plunk down their hard-earned money on expensive menus or other things such as bands and flowers.

“Maybe they are waiting to read in the newspaper one day, ‘Economy up. Stocks return. Dad can afford the wedding,’ ” he said. “They are just real slow to make a decision.”

Barbara Gruber, the owner of Healdsburg Country Gardens, a high-end wedding spot since 1993, said she has noticed a decline over previous years.

She usually has a dozen out-of-state bookings for her 25-acre estate, but so far this year, she has just one. Spending $9,500 for a Saturday afternoon might be less appealing in light of the downturn, she said.

“I’m finding that people are being much more careful about making the decision,” Gruber said. “I’m guessing couples are picking venues that are perhaps in driving distance.”

Santa Rosa wedding planner Andrea Meyers said the business she started five years ago is down by about half. Some weddings anticipated to cost $100,000 are being pared to the $20,000 range or being postponed altogether, she said.

“You can put off a wedding for a year, depending on when get your job back,” Meyers said.

But there are some who insist the wedding industry is recession-proof, especially in Sonoma County, which draws couples worldwide for its wine and gourmet food.

Area bridal shows continue to draw hundreds, and promoters are optimistic 2009 will be a banner year. Some popular Wine Country venues say they are fully booked for the summer. Hundred-thousand-dollar weddings are not unheard of.

At a bridal fair Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, women tasted hors d’oeuvres and sipped champagne while poring over price lists for photographers and limo drivers, dress shops and tuxedo rental agencies.

Grace Clayton of Rohnert Park, who is getting married in October, snacked on an appetizer after lining up a suit for her fiancé. Despite potential sticker shock, she was spending at least $10,000 on her wedding because, “What are you going to do?”

“You have to prioritize,” said the esthetician, who was there with her mother, mother-in-law-to-be and bridal party, all dressed in pink T-shirts. “We’re having a girls’ weekend.”

David Janowski, who put on The Wedding Expo at the Wells Fargo Center, said the more than 700 brides in attendance are evidence the business is recession-proof.

People may be buying smaller packages from his vendors, but they are still spending money. The average cost of a wedding remains about $30,000, he said.

“Nobody wants the economy to affect the one day in their life they have been thinking about forever and ever,” he said. “When times are hard, celebration becomes even more important in your life.”

Others in the industry agreed.

Robbin Montero, a wedding planner who hosts an annual bridal show in Rohnert Park, said people are still willing to pay top dollar to put on one of her elaborate ceremonies.

She said she took on several associates over the past year to help her with increasing business, which she said caters to the wealthy and earns her a six-figure income. Her bridal show earlier this month drew 400 brides, up from about 280 at a show in October, she said.

She said she just booked a wedding that will cost $500,000. “Weddings may be down across the country but not in Wine Country,” Montero said. “We’re really not hurting.”

Others counter that bridal show attendance is not a gauge of the industry. Some brides are dragged into the dizzying events by parents. Others go to taste free food.

“It’s fun,” said Tish Merlo of Santa Rosa, who was at the Saturday show with her sister Lena Luhr of Hidden Valley Lake, who is getting married in April. “I’ll come back again just to drink and eat.”

And some said it is too soon to tell whether 2009 will be a good year. Many summer weddings are still being organized in January.

"This is a most challenging time,” said Donna Healy, events manager at Trentadue Winery, which is experiencing a decline in bookings. “People are still getting married, though

Meanwhile, Avlakeotes, whose wedding is in July, said she’s not worried about having a smaller ceremony. She’s happy to save the money her parents are giving her by doing her own flowers and eliminating food.

She won’t have her nuptials at a tony winery, but her church, Spring Hill Community Church, owns a 40-acre vineyard, and she’s arranged to get married there. When it’s over, she’ll sell her dress rather than let it hang in the closet.

“I’m not that sentimental,” she said. “I want my wedding to be really nice, but you still have to make sacrifices.”