Released: April 28, 2006

Wedding bells and bills

Source: By Marilyn Gardner, The Christian Science Monitor

Nuptial sticker shock is a sobering fact for brides and grooms as wedding bells produce ever-larger wedding bills. Brianne Della Rocca was determined to be a savvy bride, keeping wedding costs in check. Even when friends insisted that her $7,000 budget for 110 guests was impossible, she tried to hold firm. “I said, ‘I am not going to spend a fortune on one day,’ “ says Mrs. Della Rocca, a media-relations assistant in Bennington, Vt. “That’s not what a wedding is about.”

She read books about bridal bargains. She made the invitations herself. She bought supplies, dresses, and shoes on eBay at nominal cost. She did not hire a florist or a limousine. She didn’t even order a wedding cake.

Even so, by the time she and her husband, Jared, said “I do” on Jan. 15, their expenses added up to $19,000. Despite help from parents, cash gifts at the reception, and money from savings, they faced debts of $9,000.

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