Besides shrinking guest lists and services to save money, couples are scaling back in other areas, according to Dolgin at The Knot.

Consultants suggest couples move their weddings from reception halls to public spaces. Weddings held at gardens and museums can still retain the same charm as private halls but at lower prices. The salad course is written off or entrée options are limited to one meat and one vegetarian dish. Eight piece orchestras are reduced to a smaller band or disc jockey.

Experts also say booking off-season, Friday nights or Sunday brunches are popular ways for couples to keep their grip on cash.

Modest brides are also taking up do-it-yourself decorating. Student and bride-to-be Erica Brewer says DIY wedding planning became a necessity as Detroit’s frail economy led to cuts in her fiancé’s construction work hours every week.

She turned to craft stores to make her own invitations, centerpieces and decorations. Her reception will be held at a church gym and catering will be family potluck.

“We pretty much had to balance out everything and the economy is making us think of spending wisely more,” said Brewer. “We don’t have to overdo things.”

Other brides are also getting creative when it comes to seeking deep discounts. For example, The Knot.com’s Trash to Treasure forum is experiencing more traction. On the Web site, brides could swap leftovers from prior weddings at a cheaper price.

Some brides are saving big with hand-me-downs. Nora Walsh, who married on Oct. 18, admits she did not enjoy the same wedding spoils as her older sister who married in 2005. After their father’s 401(k) got hit hard in 2008, she decided to cut corners by using her sister’s cake topper, wedding dress slip and some decorations.

“I tried to cut corners as much as possible,” said Walsh, who works for the U.S. Secret Service. “Our honeymoon was seven days in the Riviera Maya in Mexico. I always wanted a 10-day trip to St. Lucia, but that was ridiculously out of reach!”

Groom-to-be Andres H. Oranges, an energy trader in New York, said caution is key as the credit crisis shuts down businesses.

“We are being careful with how far in advance we book a specific vendor,” he said. “It’s been known that during economic downturns, many reception halls and vendors close their doors unexpectedly leaving many of their customers who paid money down at a loss.”

Oranges and his fiancé agreed that music is the “life of the party” and made that aspect their spending priority.

According to consultants, it is not just the modest or the sturdier bride-next-door toning down their celebrations. Blinged-out brides are now resorting to the less lavish.

 “What’s been popular over the years was to bring lounge furniture, cigar rollers and extra entertainment,” said Andrea Correale, president of Elegant Affairs in New York City. “All those extras are no longer anymore, it’s basically sticking to the basics.”

Correale, who planned events for celebrities such as Russell Simmons and Kevin Spacey, as well as Mariah Carey’s wedding to Nick Cannon last summer, also plans many events for Wall Streeters and Hamptonites. While these upper-crust weddings may still have disposable income, many of her clients still refuse to flaunt it at their parties.

”My clients who do have the money are in the position where they don’t want to flaunt it because they think it is in bad taste now. Especially when their friends and family may not be in the same position and I hear that all the time.”

Dolgin from the Knot also saw the economy impact popular destination weddings: “Couples are steering away from destination weddings because they feel bad asking their guests pay for travel or take off of work.”

For West Coast planner Jo Gartin, who planned weddings for Tori Spelling, Brooke Shields, Courtney Cox Arquette and many Hollywood executives, hard times do not have to ruin a woman’s dream wedding.

“Weddings can have elegance with simplicity as opposed to grand opulence,” she said.

While the economy forces couples to learn financial planning before saying their vows, they are getting a glimpse of how to steer through a lifetime of "for better or for worse" market conditions together.

Nora Walsh is a good example: as she listed the drawbacks of her less-lavish wedding, she put it all into perspective.

“I don’t regret anything... everything came out beautifully, and I am very happily married with no debt!”