The oft-tumultuous union of weddings to the planning industry that underpins them has spawned plenty of reality TV fare.

However, when couples and coordinators pull off a successful wedding no one can deny the merits of the relationship for everyone involved. Weddings serve not only as a vehicle for matrimony but also as mini-stimulus packages for local economies.
The Knot wedding web site estimates the average cost for a 150-person wedding is $25,000, or higher in some cities.
An average of more than 2.4 million couples tie the knot each year to generate more than $15 billion annually for small- and medium-sized businesses, estimates Donnie Brown, wedding planner on “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway?” and author of “Donnie Brown Weddings: From the Couture to the Cake.”
“[Weddings] help circulate cash in the system, while creating jobs,” Brown said.
Typically, couples and their families will spend about 50 percent to 60 percent of their wedding budget on the reception, so locations strive to distinguish themselves from the pack by promoting their unique amenities.
Lakeway Resort and Spa, formerly the Lakeway Inn, has hosted more than 4,600 weddings over 40 years on the shores of Lake Travis.
Senior Catering Manager Judith Roberts said weddings support a significant spectrum of the hospitality industry. Without them, venues would be unable to employ banquet captains, chefs, servers and more.
“It’s so wide-ranging; it really does benefit the whole community,” said Roberts, adding that the influx of guests who stay in town for the wedding can book 10 to 30 rooms for each party.
“Weddings are big, big money,” she said.
Vendors count on popular wedding venues for critical referrals that are vital to bringing in a large percentage of their revenue.
“They know your work and they refer you, so you are very heavily dependent upon those [networks],” said Brenda Abbott, a Smithville florist that serves the Lakeway area.
The network branches out to other vendors as well, forming a circle as solid as a wedding band. DJs meet photographers who work with videographers and so on to expand the word of mouth and generate more business.
“The photographers are usually the ones who stay for the whole wedding. If they get to try [the cake], they are going to be able to tell their clients what’s good and what’s not, who’s easy to work with and who’s not,” said Angela Jiles, owner of Blue Note Bakery in Austin. “We all cross-promote each other.”
Despite having those connections, the tough economy is forcing some vendors to be more flexible in their pricing or to adapt their services to meet tighter wedding budgets.
Abbott said that before last year she was serving clients who had budgeted $10,000 to $20,000 for floral arrangements at their wedding, but those figures had dropped to $5,000 to $6,000.
“Everybody’s budget-conscious. That’s created a bit of a challenge when you have big weddings,” said Abbott, noting that she has implemented more glassware to achieve the same stunning impact at a lower price.
Fluctuating costs out of vendors’ control also dictate much of their services and prices.
Higher fuel costs led to an increase in the price of flower blooms, which is another reason why Abbott has incorporated more glassware and made other adjustments.
Jiles said she expects to raise her prices because the cost of sugar, the bakery’s primary ingredient, has risen from $15 for a 50-pound bag to $25 in a matter of months.
“That hurts. We haven’t changed prices yet, but we are going to have to because we’ve got overhead to cover and staff to pay. We are a small little shop,” she said.
Oak Hill photographer Pam Hults, owner of a’ La Vie Photography, adjusted her prices to meet a range of budgets in the Lakeway area. Because her business lives or dies based on the number of weddings she works, she had to make some changes based on the sagging economy.
“Since I work out here quite a bit, I used to be hard and fast with my pricing, but … I became much more flexible in 2009,” Hults said.
She previously referred weddings less than six hours to other photographers, but now she offers prices and packages for smaller, shorter weddings that still require 20-25 hours of work per client.
“I price it for them and make it worth my time,” she said.
Sorting through lists upon lists of vendors and trying to coordinate family members and other considerations can be overwhelming for some couples so they often turn to wedding planners to oversee many of the details.
Much like travel agents who can negotiate better rates through package deals, wedding planners bundle teams of vendors based upon their networks and expertise.
“Try to hire a planner if you can. You’d be surprised how a good planner can save you the majority of, if not all of, their fee in better event management, better budgeting and understanding how to negotiate with vendors and what will and won’t work,” Brown said.
Wedding vendors, planners and venues can count on one thing through the thick and thin of their industry – people will continue to get married.
“It’s a recession-proof business. Everybody keeps on getting married,” Roberts said.