Spending your last penny or your parents’ life saving doesn’t have to be when planning your wedding.  Your dream day doesn’t have to break the bank with some careful planning and budget friendly strategies.  Planning ahead is crucial to having a budget wedding that isn’t cheap.  The wedding will not look like you threw it together last minute with our helpful tips.

Below is a list of helpful tips and ideas of how you can save on your wedding without it looking cheap.  Major areas of savings covered include:

• Wedding venue
• Decorations
• Invitations
• Wedding dress
• Reception

The place the wedding is held can be an expensive element to the big day.  Finding an inexpensive place to host the celebration is one of the most significant areas the couple can save.  Once a conservative and realistic budget has been determined, finding the place to host the wedding is the next step.

Some couples find that a place that can accommodate both the wedding and reception is often less expensive.  Free receptions sites like a park or friend’s back yard are great for saving money and with some careful planning can look like a million dollar setting.  Outdoor gardens that belong to friends or relatives are great places to host the reception.

The cost of decorations for the wedding can add up quickly. Less is more when decorating for a church wedding.  A lot of times the church offers decorations for free when the fee for hosting is paid for.  Greenery is an inexpensive route for décor and brides-to-be have grown their own flowers prior to the wedding to save a beaucoup on the bouquet.

Homemade wedding invitations are becoming more and more popular with the wide variety of computer programs available on the market.  For an extremely cost effective invite, try making your own by using Microsoft Word.  Invitations can be tastefully constructed to fit into a business sized envelope.  The savings on postage will be great when you avoid the odd sized shapes of standard wedding invitations.

The wedding dress can often be one of the most expensive items on the list.  Some brides plan to spend a lot on their wedding dress while others take a more practical approach and avoid the inflated cost for a one day affair.

General clothing shops offer greater deals on wedding dresses than those stores who only carry wedding dresses.  For a more sentimental approach to the dress, some brides have chosen to wear their mother’s dress and added their own touch to it.  A seamstress can alter the dress and add a few items that will jazz it up.  The savings is great when a dress is borrowed from a friend or family member.

Saving money on the reception can be great and should be looked into when planning a budget friendly wedding.  Not only can you save with the reception site but also the refreshments.

As discussed previously, finding a wedding site that offers a place for both the ceremony and reception can save the couple big bucks.  Having the reception in a friend’s backyard also has the potential of a huge savings.

The reception food and drink is another significant expense.  Caterers can be costly.  Some couples have found that preparing their own food has saved them a lot of money.  A friend in culinary school or a family member who owns a restaurant can be big helps during this time.

The wedding cake can be quite expensive and a large task to take on unless you are skilled.  Cupcakes are a nice touch and can be made in place of the traditional wedding cake.  Cupcakes can be made and decorate by the wedding party which will add a sentimental touch to a classy yet inexpensive wedding.