Budget brides

NEW YORK — Christina Hendrix had her dream wedding: a ceremony, reception and honeymoon that cost less than $12,000, total.

Her aunt made her dress. A friend of a friend of a friend took photos. Her father officiated, after being ordained online. She bought card stock at Office Depot Inc. and printed invitations on her cousin's printer. She ordered three cakes from her favorite restaurant without mentioning they were for a wedding.

"If you asked the guests, not a single one of them knew or would know that we cut corners," said Hendrix, a 29-year old Atlanta lawyer who has been married for a year. She and her then-fiance planned the wedding knowing they didn't want to add any more debt to their loans for graduate school.

Bargain-hunting brides are buying dresses on eBay Inc., baking white-frosted cupcakes instead of a lavish wedding cake, shrinking guest lists and handcrafting their centerpieces. As the cost of the average wedding tops $20,000, some couples are working hard to keep their nuptials simple — and inexpensive.

"At the end of the day, it's about being with the person you want to spend your life with; it's not about impressing your guests," said Jenn Mattie, 27, who is watching costs as she plans her summer wedding.

Mattie, a fashion merchandising student in New York, took a jewelry design class and made her fiance's wedding band using $3 worth of material. She and her fiance will get married under a wedding canopy made from tree branches and a $36 duvet cover, which they'll sleep under after the wedding. She may buy her dress online from J. Crew's Web site, where wedding dresses run from $220 to $550, much cheaper than the five-figure dresses at high-end boutiques.

The couple is making their centerpieces themselves, and the bridesmaids will carry $3 parasols from New York's Chinatown.

"Money doesn't buy chic class," Mattie said. "I've been to some pretty expensive weddings that were tacky."

Frugal brides such as Hendrix and Mattie are bucking a trend. Before World War I, the average wedding was one-third of a family's median annual income, but cost as a percent of income has been rising ever since, said Alan Fields, co-author of "Bridal Bargains."

At the high end, a videographer can cost $5,000 and a pair of silk bridal shoes from designer Peter Fox can cost $415.

Low-budget brides refuse to pay.

Kelly Hamilton, owner of a consignment shop called I Do Bridal in Chicago, said some brides come to her with "sticker shock."