SEATTLE -- Folks jogging by. Families on a picnic. The occasional drunk. And in a Seattle public park, the possibility of rain.

Nicole Barker, recently engaged and shopping for a site for her wedding ceremony, had reservations about selecting Parsons Garden, on the south slope of Queen Anne Hill, for her wedding.

She knew an outdoor wedding could never be as perfect as the choreographed indoor events featured in bridal magazines.

But Barker and fiance Tim Oerting were facing a financial crunch and loved the thought of being married outdoors. They threw out their magazines, revised their expectations and scheduled the park for their June 27 wedding.

"Parsons Garden was far and away our favorite space," Barker said. "We liked how you could walk in and it felt secluded." With the economy ailing, more Seattle area couples are joining Barker and Oerting in turning to Seattle's public parks as a less expensive alternative to a more costly church, banquet hall or hotel wedding. Barker is one of 280 brides who chose to schedule their weddings in one of Seattle's parks this year -- which park officials said represents a 10 percent increase over last year.

As a public park administered by Seattle Parks and Recreation, a space such as Parsons Garden costs only $150 an hour to reserve for a wedding. For Barker, who was struggling to keep her wedding budget under $10,000, spending more money to rent an indoor space was too expensive. "Seattle has some of the most beautiful parks in the world -- definitely in the country," said Joanne Orsucci, who manages events scheduling for the park department. "They're economical as compared with other venue rentals that you would have a ceremony in, whether they be banquet halls, churches, all types of things.

Clementine Lord and Andrew Lindley agreed. They found the Washington Park Arboretum gazebo was a happy alternative to renting a hall for their wedding.

"Both of us wanted an outdoor wedding," Lord said. "The arboretum seemed a natural choice for us."

Lord and Lindley, who are from Billings, Mont., wanted what Lord called a "destination wedding on a budget." That budget was $5,000 -- half of what wedding coordinators say is the "minimum" cost for a wedding. But for Lord and Lindley, $10,000 was too much.

Keeping a wedding under $10,000 means adopting a do-it-yourself attitude when it comes to the preparations, Lord said. It also means setting aside dreams of a fantasy wedding.

"Is this my Cinderella dream wedding?" Lord asked. "No. Am I really happy and excited about it? Yes."

Siri Johnson and Zach Brown also wanted to keep their wedding as inexpensive as possible.

For the ceremony site, Johnson and Brown also chose a public park. They visited Kubota Garden on April 11. It was snowing. They thought it was beautiful.

"It was natural, pretty," Johnson said. "No need for us to do massive amounts of flowers."

To keep costs down, they did their own planning and assessed their resources. They found family and friends could take care of nearly everything they needed for the wedding.

They chose not to hire a professional photographer. Instead, they asked a friend who is a professional cinematographer to shoot a video. Another friend who is a graphic designer did the invitations.

The price tag for their wedding was $1,500.

"So many friends of the family have just been absolutely gracious," Brown said. "When everyone close to you is involved in it, you know where you stand."

But when a couple chooses to take on so much of the planning and preparation themselves, disaster can strike. Barker has already had a few crises to deal with.

The first came early in her engagement, when she realized she and Oerting had no idea where to begin.

Barker conducted extensive online research and eventually decided to hire wedding coordinator Renee Metty.

Knowing what to expect has helped Barker stave off other disasters.

For example, knowing to double-check postage rates with the Postal Service helped Barker avoid a problem with her invitations. A post office employee weighed a test invitation and failed to account for its stiffness when he quoted a postage rate. As a result, the vintage stamps Barker and Oerting affixed to their invitations fell close to a dollar short of the actual postage needed.

Fortunately, she knew to take an invitation to the post office for a second trial run before dropping the main batch of cards in the mail.

Apprised of her mistake, Barker was able to fix it by adding an air-mail stamp.

"There's always going to be things that go wrong," she said. "We've really tried to stay focused on what's important. We're not planning a social event. We're planning a family gathering."

Johnson and Brown agreed. One common pitfall of park weddings is that they're outdoors -- a risky prospect in Seattle -- but the couple decided they didn't care. They'll have umbrellas on hand during the ceremony and hope for the best.

"Sit down beforehand and keep it in perspective," Brown said. "The big thing is this is day one. A big wedding day does not a marriage make."

Johnson agreed, noting that marriage is about what comes after the wedding, not during it.

"And then we'll ride off into the sunset, I guess."

Tips for do-it-yourself brides

Wedding coordinator Renee Metty shares these recommendations for brides looking to control costs and avoid stress.

1. Keep it all in perspective. The most important thing, Metty says, is not to confuse a marriage with a wedding. Focus on three things that are really important, make sure they're perfect, and then let everything else fall as it may.

2. Keep your planning realistic. Cost is always an issue. Have a firm budget, stick to it and try not to get caught up in the details of the planning process. Keep your ideas flexible. Although you probably won't want to do everything yourself, favors, invitations and menu cards are easy chores, and you can always get your wedding party to help. Enlist friends to shoot a video or photos if you can't afford both a photographer and a videographer.

3. Know your flowers. Keep in mind the time of year. If flowers are in season, they'll cost less and hold up better. Also, have a backup plan in case your florist falls through.

4. Plan ahead. Order your dress in advance. Metty says six months ahead of time is standard. Make sure you check in with the person providing your dress, and have someone on hand who can help with final fittings in case the boutique falls through.

5. Have an emergency kit. Metty says emergency kits can make minor disasters on your wedding day seem much less horrific. A kit should include nail polish remover, extra hose, hairspray, a first-aid kit, a comb, a brush, black socks for the groom, a sewing kit, a lint brush and sandpaper for any women in the bridal party who might have new shoes (use it to scuff up the bottoms to prevent slipping).