FOR BRIDES ON a tight budget, "wedding" might as well be a four-letter word.

Merely uttering it to a vendor is enough to send price quotes soaring. "Merchants look to weddings as a way to make up for low-profit-margin events," says Alan Fields, author of "Bridal Bargains." "The hope is you're not as price-conscious because it's your big day." Markups range from a 10% premium for flowers to 200% for a pair of satin shoes.

To be fair, the amount of time and resources vendors put into weddings typically exceeds those required by other events. "For a wedding, I'm going to talk to that bride, in the course of a year, probably 150 times," says celebrity event planner Steve Kemble. "For a corporate client, we may talk four times." The latter is also unlikely to be exacting about the shade of pink roses for the centerpieces or require an expensive ceremony-to-reception changeover at the event site.

See our sidebar

Before you say "I do" to a pricey bridal gown or an exorbitant vendor contract, make sure you understand where the markups come from and how you might be able to avoid them.

Flowers

"When doing flowers for a wedding, florists always buy more than they use," says Tara Simone, owner of Barbara's Flowers in New York. The reason: The florist needs to hedge against smaller blooms or those that aren't quite perfect enough for a wedding. As a result, brides pay at least 10% to 15% more than they would for a regular arrangement. That premium also includes the added time required to wire or sew delicate flowers onto a bouquet so they don't fall apart. "In the time it takes me to put together one $150 bridal bouquet, I could have made $300 worth of retail arrangements," says Simone. To help lower the bill, choose flowers that are hardy and also in-season.

Ceremony and Reception Sites

The big reason brides and grooms pay more for a reception location has to do with the wedding packages that most venues require, explains Shawn Rabideau, a New York-based wedding planner. These packages include more services and amenities like private dressing suites for the bridal party and a champagne toast thereby making them at least 20% to 25% more expensive (more, if you're holding the ceremony there, too) than booking other types of event packages or ordering services a la carte. "It's all the little things that add to the bottom line of your budget," he says. One way to gain more negotiating leverage with a venue is to book the wedding during the off-season. They'll be more amenable to your individual needs when they need the business.

To get the most bang for your buck any time of the year, arrange the reception at a hotel. Hotels tend to offer better rates for weddings than other events because they draw lots of out-of-town and potentially hotel-bound guests, says Angela Gala, co-owner of Rogers & Gala Creative Partners, a Charlotte, N.C.-based event-planning company.

Bridal Gowns and Accessories

"The dress is one of those perennial gripe areas," says consumer advocate Fields. "It's budget death by 1,000 cuts." Shops typically mark up gowns by at least 100% from the wholesale price, he says. A far sneakier move: Dresses without labels and designers' nonadvertised lines may be as much as 600% more, because the label-free dresses make it harder for brides to price-compare. Accessories and other extras such as shoes and lingerie, can often carry markups of 200% to 300% above the regular retail price. One way to save on a dress is to do research online first. Once you find the dress you love, find a store where you can try it on. Then ascertain which place offers the best price (hint: the best deal is most likely on the web).

Catering and Cakes

Whether it's a wedding or a business luncheon, restaurants and caterers typically mark up the cost of their food and services anywhere from 300% to 500% from wholesale prices to factor in preparation time and to hedge against rapidly rising food prices, says Jim Zilli, CEO of Zilli Hospitality Group, a Milwaukee-based caterer. Like reception halls and other venues, many caterers and restaurants require couples to commit to set packages of services. For example, they may insist that the menu come with a minimum number of courses or options. To avoid paying extra, look for a caterer who's willing to offer a la carte pricing, he says.

Cakes, on the other hand, are marked up as a result of construction and decoration, says Fields. While sheet cake might cost 75 cents a slice, a sliver of wedding cake with handcrafted sugar flowers and colorful icing can easily top $15. Tiered cakes aren't stable, and therefore require careful handling and extra engineering in the form of fortified icing and cake stand supports. One way to save: Consider buying (or renting) a small decorated cake for the cutting ceremony, with a sheet cake to be cut up behind the scenes and served to guests.

Also See:

• 10 Ways to Cut Wedding Costs

• The Wedding Gift Etiquette Guide

• Wedding Registry Deals Offer Discounts, Other Perks