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By MEGHANN COTTER
EDDING planner Ginny Chilton moved her 16-year-old business into a building on Lafayette Boulevard in March.
That same month, Mike Van Bruggen and his wife moved their 10-year-old bridal salon, I Thee Wed, into a building right next door.
Neither Chilton of Weddings by Ginny nor Van Bruggen knew about the other when they made plans to relocate. But both say their close positioning is symbolic of the relationship many wedding businesses maintain.
Weddings create a $72 billion industry, according to theknot.com. The online resource for marriage and wedding services says that figure doesn't include the $7 billion spent on honeymoons and $19 billion spent on wedding gifts.
Those profits belong to a wide variety of businesses per wedding, from the coordinator down to the cake supplier. And the businesses that provide those services say working together helps them be successful.
Because brides and grooms have so many contacts to make, wedding business owners say that more consumers want to deal with businesses that can help them accomplish the most at once.
"We've been networking with other vendors ever since we started," Chilton said. "They help us, and we help them. And that's the way I like it."
She offers many services in-house--such as wedding consultation, decorating and catering. Another business owner, Karena Frantum, operates Day of Dreams--which supplies wedding vails and accessories--out of the same store.
Chilton also refers clients to other businesses, depending on their wants and needs.
I Thee Wed, for example, mostly sells wedding dresses and tuxedoes, which Chilton does not offer.
"When it comes to weddings, we are all on the same team," Van Bruggen said. "It's better to have a good neighbor than a far away friend."
He and his wife were motivated to open their store, they said, because they felt the Fredericksburg area offered limited wedding resources when they got married 16 years ago. He said his wife had to travel miles outside of town to take care of many of the arrangements.
But wedding business owners say the area's growth means more weddings locally.
Chilton said she arranges about four to five weddings every weekend. That doesn't count the three to seven couples who come in weekly to ask her--a marriage commissioner--to marry them on the spot.
Van Bruggen said the selection of vendors has expanded with that market. And the businesses always seem willing to help each other be successful in order to relieve stress on the wedding couple.
"There's a nice group of people--DJs, photographers, planners, florists--that it works out pretty well," he said. "There is a good amount of people that can take care of a wedding. It's good for the busy bride."
Some of his customers, he said, now come from other parts of the state or order from other countries looking for bargains.
Experts say prices for wedding needs are gradually increasing.
The average wedding budget is now $22,000 to $25,000, up from $15,000 in 1990, according to the Fairchild Bridal Infobank. The group publishes Modern Bride magazine.
But local businesses say costs in Fredericksburg still remain much lower than many other places.
Van Bruggen estimates that dresses here sell for $299 to $850, while more urban areas may charge thousands of dollars.
He said local prices are enough to keep his shop open. But it still isn't enough to make a career out of it. He and his wife operate the store while also working full-time real estate jobs.
"A lot of weddings [here] are very conservative, but very nice," Chilton said. "Each year we see a little increase in what we can charge for."
Diana W. Perrussel, sales director for Susan's Catering in Stafford, said people will now spend an average of $30 to $35 a plate when they use her business. That's up from $20 to $25 several years ago.
"But for a lot of areas that's not much at all," she said. "With weddings it is pretty much up to the family. They'll spend as much as they need to and want to."
The 20-year-old company caters events along the East Coast. Wedding receptions make up about 80 percent of their business, she said.
In addition to providing their own services, she said, they spend a lot of time helping couples locate reception services they don't offer, such as tent rental, a ballroom or a disc jockey. They have even referred people to the Internet and craft stores, such as Michael's and Ben Franklin, with ideas for decorations.
"Everyone wants to get the most bang for their buck," she said. "And we try to help them."
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