COUPLES CUT COST OF `I DO' : BRIDES LEARN HOW TO SAVE ON BIG EVENT.Byline: Christopher Noxon Daily News Staff Writer Every so often, Raven raven, common name for the largest member of the family Corvidae (crow family), ranging throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The raven, Corvus corax, is a glossy black scavenging bird about 26 in. Narain and Diana Garcia get the urge to do it the easy way. The Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. couple met a year ago playing beach volleyball For the ball used in this sport, see . Beach volleyball is an Olympic team sport played on sand. Two teams, positioned on either side of a net which divides a rectangular court, hit a volleyball, usually using the hands or arms. . A whirlwind whirlwind, revolving mass of air resulting from local atmospheric instability, such as that caused by intense heating of the ground by the sun on a hot summer day. romance led to the big question a month later. The wedding is planned for next summer. Now it's down to business. After settling on a ring, they have to choose the location, the invitations, the disc jockey disc jockey (DJ) Person who plays recorded music on radio or television or at a nightclub or other live venue. Disc jockey programs became the economic base of many radio stations in the U.S. after World War II. , the caterer, the limousine. ``All the little things are adding up,'' said Garcia, a student who works in marketing. ``It's a lot of money for just six hours.'' Once in a while, Narain and Garcia wonder if they should bother. Blood tests, signatures and a drive-through chapel could be the end of it. ``Sometimes I think we should just bag this thing, get married in Vegas and use the money for a big trip together,'' Garcia said. Diane La Douceur dou·ceur n. Money given as a tip, gratuity, or bribe. [French, from Late Latin dulcor, sweetness, from Latin dulcis, sweet.] understands a couple like Narain and Garcia. A recent bride with a background in special events and marketing, La Douceur decided two years ago to make a career of helping people cut corners on weddings. La Douceur began by conducting workshops for small groups of cost-conscious couples. On Sunday she held her first full-scale seminar, ``Affordable Dream Weddings.'' Gowns and tuxedos were modeled. About a dozen booths were staffed by businesses specializing in weddings. Most couples shudder at the mounting cost of matrimony MATRIMONY. See Marriage. , said La Douceur. The average wedding costs about $22,000, including the honeymoon and rings. But a couple could save at least $10,000, she said. La Douceur said she learned almost all the lessons she teaches when she was planning her own wedding three years ago. ``When I got married, I realized no one was showing brides how to save money,'' she said. ``So many brides are strapped financially, and there's just no help out there to get them through it.'' Her list of suggestions include renting a gown, buying at discount outlets, using mix tapes instead of a disc jockey, obtaining a cake from a vocational school and scheduling a wedding for a day when a church is already decorated dec·o·rate tr.v. dec·o·rat·ed, dec·o·rat·ing, dec·o·rates 1. To furnish, provide, or adorn with something ornamental; embellish. 2. with flowers. Bringing together local wedding-related businesses for a seminar gives couples a better understanding of the options available, she said. ``I feel like a kid in a candy store,'' said Garcia, who clutched her fiance while watching dresses swish by on a runway display. ``Everything is here.'' Her fiance was a little less enthusiastic. The 30-year-old plumber (programming, tool) Plumber - A system for obtaining information about memory leaks in Ada and C programs. http://home.earthlink.net/~owenomalley/plumber.html. checked out the horse-drawn carriage and surveyed the room full of balloons, flower arrangements, photo albums, cappuccino cap·puc·ci·no n. pl. cap·puc·ci·nos Espresso coffee mixed or topped with steamed milk or cream. [Italian, makers and candlesticks. Looking over the crowd, he noticed only one other man in attendance. ``It's a little overwhelming,'' he said. If it got to be too much for him, Garcia told her fiance, she would understand if he wandered over to the field next door and watched the soccer game. Little arrangements like that, she said, will make the marriage work long after the wedding is over. CAPTION(S): 2 Photos Photo: (1--color in SIMI only) Diana Garcia and her fian ce, Raven Narain, watch as a wedding gown is modeled at a seminar in Simi. (2--ran in SIMi only) Brides-to-be and their relatives form most of the audience at a seminar on trimming costs of a wedding. John McCoy/Daily News |
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