Jun 14, 2009

Building has a cluster of wedding shopsBy Jenny Kincaid BooneRoanoke.com

Even as economic constraints force couples nationwide to trim budgets for their dream weddings, several Roanoke area bridal retailers have created a one-stop cluster for soon-to-be brides and grooms.

In the past few months, three retailers selling stationery, jewelry and flowers have opened inside a building on Peters Creek Road that also houses longtime wedding apparel businesses, Brides House & Formals and Mr. Tuxedo. This building has been dubbed the Event Square on Peters Creek Road.

The business owners there say sales are steady, though some are working more than ever to stay within couples’ tightened budgets.

The average cost of a U.S. wedding was $21,814 in 2008, and the cost is estimated at $20,398 in 2009, according to Wedding Report Inc., a market research company. The company expects the wedding market to remain soft through this year and in 2010, as the recession suppresses spending. Already, wedding bookings are declining nationwide, and some couples are trimming their guest lists to keep costs down, according to Wedding Report.

Still, couples are not likely to cancel their weddings because of the recession. These love-struck brides and grooms are the consumers that Linda Garbee wants to attract.

Garbee closed her former stationery and gift shop, You’re Invited, at The Forum in Southwest Roanoke County in April.

She opened Alice in Paperland (named after her mother) on Peters Creek Road as a studio where she can focus on custom stationery, her specialty. Garbee, who’s also a wedding coordinator, offers individually designed invitations and announcements for a variety of social occasions, particularly weddings.

In February, Tiffany Johnston moved her custom jewelry business from Vinton to the Event Square complex. Johnston, a private jewelry and diamond broker, grew up in the retail business. Her family owned a jewelry store in Princeton, W.Va. She started her own venture, Tiffany Lynn Diamonds, in 2003.

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