Wedding business gets creative with recession

SANTA ROSA BEACH, FL  - Susan Nelson decided she needed something new to entice couples to spend on wedding catering, even if they couldn’t afford the service. Three weeks ago, she started offering store credit at The Culinary Gallery she owns with her son.
   
“It’s basically the honor system,” Susan Nelson said. “It is very risky, but, in this economy, you kind of have to do what you have to do.”
   
Businesses that depend on weddings must be creative during the recession, she said. The Gallery, based in Santa Rosa Beach, earns 25 percent of its business from weddings, according to Scott Nelson, executive chef, co-owner and Nelson’s son.
   
Susan Nelson said her idea is to allow couples to charge catering to be paid in monthly installments for up to a year. At least two brides-to-be already have inquired about the service, Scott Nelson said.
   
In-house financing is new in the catering industry, Richard Markel, spokesman for the Association for Wedding Professionals International, said in an e-mail. Other businesses built around weddings offer extras, such as reduced rental fees for rooms, extra lighting or additional hors d’oeuvres, he said.
   
Couples are cutting catering after finding out the service can cost thousands, Susan Nelson said. Having in-house credit, also lets the bride have her dream wedding.
   
“It would be silly to have a $5,000 dress and serve Beanie Weenies,” Susan Nelson said.
   
A March survey by The Knot, a wedding planning Web site, found 40 percent of brides have reduced their budgets by about 16 percent. On top of that, the number of weddings in Bay County are slowly falling, according to county records. Bay County had 2,396 in 2005, compared to 2,248 last year. About 1,600 have wed this year, which is about the same as 2008.
   
Dave Johnson, who publishes the local magazine Perfect Wedding Guide, said the Panama City and Panama City Beach areas don’t market Panama City Beach as a wedding destination. Markel said areas that advertise, even during the recession, have faired best.
   
One in five couples choose to wed in resort areas, away from home, according to a 2008 survey by The Knot. Las Vegas still ranks No. 1, Markel said. Orlando and Southern California round out the top three U.S. wedding destinations. Most buy packages that include hotel rooms and catering instead of buying from stand-alone caterers, Scott Nelson said.
   
More couples are choosing to elope or have small destination weddings instead of a large, at-home wedding, said Susan Long, who owns Panama City Weddings. About 10 years ago, weddings had 156 guests now the average is 90 guests, Markel said.