It's wedding season, and the way we live now during These Trouble Times involves spending more than you would on an extravagant ceremony to have an event which seems casual and spur-of-the-moment. (And then discreetly making sure that people know you actually did shell out a bunch of cash by talking about it to the New York Times.) Out: lobster tails and fine cocaine; in: burgers, fries, and homemade meth. But making concessions to our impoverished age is a luxury only available to those who can afford it.

In April, Brittany Messmer was married in Palm Desert, Calif., at a golf club where she had met her husband seven years ago. "My dad gave me and my mom a hard time, saying we decided to have the wedding of the century during a depression," said Ms. Messmer, 24. She said she sought "simple beauty" in keeping with the recessionary mood.

Of course, "simple" is subjective. The day started with tea sandwiches and cookies before cocktails. Her parents hired a dozen members of the University of Southern California marching band to play a few songs. The evening ended with sparklers and fireworks. Ms. Messmer said the festivities, arranged by Ms. Weiss, cost more than the planner's average wedding.

Fortunately, the couple was also able to have a lovely after-party, where, "as a disc jockey played hip-hop and R & B tunes for three hours, waiters brought out overflowing plates of bite-size burgers, mini grilled cheese sandwiches, French fries (of course) and warm chocolate chip cookies with iced milk shooters."

UNRELATED: "As the recession forces more hospitals and doctors to pare costs and services, the cutbacks are hitting one group of patients especially hard: children."