Weddings
Battalion special section focuses
on how to make them memorable
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United Press International
NEW YORK — It will come as
no surprise to anyone who ever
has been a bride that more than
14 percent of all toasters sold in
the United States are intended
for newlyweds.
Without weddings and wed
ding presents, 40 percent of the
nation’s warming trays and food
warmers would go unsold,
according to Modern Bride
magazine, which makes it a busi
ness to know such things. The
makers of waffle irons would see
sales skid 43 percent. The bot
tom would f all out of the electric
frying pan business.
The bridal market looks par
ticularly juicy to retailers these
days. More people than ever are
getting married — and money is
no object to them.
“Despite the economy, young
couples planning their wed
dings are spending like there’s
no tomorrow,” said Bill Heaton,
president of Bridal Expos.
Experts say couples planning
marriages in the 1980s are
thinking like Joanne Kelly, 23,
who expects to spend about
SI0,000 on her October wed
ding on Long Island.
Kelly and her fiance, John
Sullivan, are inviting 250 people
to a sit-down dinner following a
formal wedding at her parish
church. Kelly said they will pay
the costs themselves — a trend
wedding consultants are notic
ing across the country.
Last year nearly 2.5 million
couples entered the $16.2-
billion-a-year bridal market —
six months of hyper-purchasing
immediately before and after
the wedding.
The number of marriages
each year has been climbing
steadily. After a slide in the mid-
1970s, the number of weddings
jumped 12 percent in a five-year
period. The trend seems likely
to continue, given the fact that
the baby boom generation is at
the marrying age, and more
than 90 percent of all Americans
say they regard the married
state as the preferred way of life.
The increasing number of
weddings means more gifts will
be given. The wedding shower
has become an increasingly
pricey affair, with the bride-to-
be receiving food processors
and microwave ovens instead of
the old lacey underwear.
But the popularity of one
pricey item — china and silver —
has fallen. The tableware indus
try prefers the thinking of
Cheryl Vollmer, 19, whose pa
rents have volunteered to pro
vide china and silverware as a
wedding present.
If such expensive tableware
does not arrive as a wedding gift,
chances are it probably will not
be bought at all. Such magazines
as Modern Bride are full of ads
for china and crystal, and many
manufacturers also advertise in
periodicals that cater to the brid
al magazine reader of
tomorrow.
More than 14 percent of all
tableware is intended for the 2
percent of American house
holds classified as the bridal
market, researchers say. That
includes a third of all sterling or
silverplate flatware sold, 15 per
cent ot all china and 64 percent
of such stainless steel ware as
teapots, bowls and pitchers.
There also is the wedding it
self, generating business for
dressmakers, tuxedo renters, ca
tering firms, florists and orches
tras.
Many experts say the trend is
back to lavish, old-fashioned
ceremonies.
It can cost a king’s ransom, of
course.
The wedding dress, an item
that may be worn once in a life
time, costs more than any other
C iece of clothing the bride ever
uys.
Terry Dufka, director of wed
ding gift services at Carson Pirie
Scott in Chicago, says the aver
age dress sold by her depart
ment store chain costs $450-
$600. The price tag can, of
course, go much higher.
A saleswoman at Neiman-
Marcus in Dallas said the store’s
wedding gowns begin at around
$350, “and we can take you up to
$7,000-$ 10,000.”
e Station
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