According to designer Mario Crocé, who runs an eponymous high-end bridal boutique, Crocé & Colosimo Couture, with his partner Ines Colosimo, a wedding is “… all about the bride and her dress”.

Crocé & Colosimo Couture has been in the bridal wear business for 35 years and is one of a cluster of bridal stores on Sydney Road in the multicultural suburb of Brunswick, in Melbourne’s north.

In the last 15 years, marriage has seen a consistent downward trend in the face of growing de-facto partnerships. Although the marriage rate of 6.1 for 2022 resembled pre-pandemic years, it reflected the pent-up demand from many couples delaying marriage due to the COVID lockdown.

According to Moneysmart, an average Australian wedding cost $36,000 in 2023—thanks to inflation—marking an 84.62 per cent increase from $19,500 in 2020, prior to Covid. Coupled with high-interest rates, it has further deterred couples from taking wedding vows.

Despite all the bad news, the in-store business has remained “steady” for Crocé and Colosimo, as they serve a high-income clientele looking for exclusive made-to-measure wedding dresses ranging from $4,500 to $10,000 and above.

According to Easy Weddings, an average wedding dress in Victoria costs $2,556 with 75 per cent of brides purchasing brand-new dresses.

Over the years, the couture boutique has seen a demographic shift in buyers from 18-26-year-olds to more mature couples aged 30-40, opting for intimate weddings with reduced expenses.

“They have small weddings. They go simple on the garments, on the gowns. So, they do cut back,” says Colosimo.

The trend had already set in before Covid, she says, “But then Covid killed everything… The survivors in the business are the ones that have a good product, but it is going to thin out a lot of people.”

As per the IBIS World Report on Bridal Stores in Australia, this demographic shift favours bridal stores as older buyers with greater disposable income are boosting expenditure on wedding attire.

Colosimo says they have survived for 35 years through the recession when they started out, her breast cancer 20 years ago, and the pandemic recently. They are “established” in the industry while many bridal businesses have “liquidated”.

“It is a dog-eat-dog type of thing. We had them across the road, we had them down. I call them mushrooms because the mushrooms come up and then they are gone.”

According to the latest data from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS), weddings are typically more frequent around February-April and September-November.

Colosimo says weddings now occur all year round due to changing weather and the popularity of destination weddings. “Between October and April, we are probably a little bit busier but not to the extent that it used to be before.

“It used to be from August to April, flat out, and then you had the winter months preparing designs and samples. But now it is not like that.”

Rising fabric prices and the challenge of maintaining the base prices without passing on the costs to the customers concerns Colosimo. “The Covid did do damage, but we are bringing it even forward by putting prices up.”

Finding the perfect wedding dress is no easy feat either.

Bride-to-be Jessica Parish has been on the lookout for a “fairy-tale” dress for her November 2024 wedding.

Parish, who has modelled for bridal couture previously, says, “I know how I feel in them, and I want to feel that same feeling on my wedding day.”

The 32-year-old clinical project manager has earmarked $3,500 for her wedding dress from a total wedding budget of $60,000.

Parish says, “The cost of living is making us compromise our lives.

“Our parents got married and bought a house, we are having to choose which one to do knowing that the other will then be delayed at least another two years.”

Dress hunting for Parish has been “disappointing” after receiving a quote of $7,000 for the couture she wanted.

Parish says, “I either cannot find things I like, or it is crazy over-priced.

“I want a plain A-line gown with split seam, not something extravagant but, I just cannot find within budget.”

Parish says she has considered rentals and second-hand purchases. “But unfortunately, I am taller than the average girl so finding one in my size and height has been impossible.”

Gabrielle Khan, who tied the knot in March 2023, had a similar problem with sizes.

After dress hunting for nine months, Khan says she had a “demoralising experience” due to the sample dresses being too small to try on and visualise the final look.

“Also, the fabrics and designs that I was interested in were heavily beaded which meant they were on the pricier end of the scale and out of my price range.”

The 27-year-old administration assistant had a wedding dress budget of $2,500.

She says post-Covid, the huge backlog of weddings inflated the prices of “everything in the wedding world” and made it harder to source.

Her ideal choice would have been to buy off-the-rack. But she went for a cheaper alternative.

Khan’s aunt bought her an unstitched dress from India for $500 and she spent an additional $300 on alterations.

“Ultimately, my aunt’s choice was perfect,” exclaims Khan.

Parish says she refuses to lower her expectations or compromise as she cannot have what she wants within her budget. “I am not actually ready to accept that fate and continue hunting.”

When it came to wedding preparations, for both Parish and Khan, their wedding dress figured as the second most important priority after deciding on the wedding venue.

Khan says she wanted her dress to reflect her Afghan-Indian heritage. “I did not want to have something traditional… It was not to show to anyone, but for me to feel connected.”

Crocé and Colosimo have no plans to expand. Nor are they worried about competition from low-cost online stores. Colosimo calmly says, “There is a market for everything. People who buy online do not understand anything about fit or look, it is just about the dollar.”

Offering personalised customer service, Crocé and Colosimo assist their brides from the moment they walk into the store until the wedding day, helping them get dressed. They say, “We are not just selling a dress; we are selling a dream.”