The guest list is the best way to trim down your costs on a wedding. Fewer guests equal less food and less booze (do you see where I’m going with this?). A bride working with a modest budget should always consider this first along with the budget. Going along hand-in-hand with this bit of advice, if you trim your guest list your venue might not have to be so grand either.

Secondly, a bride working with little riches begins to consider making things in place of ordering them offline or from a well-known bridal supplier. Find some one who is experienced with calligraphy and call in a favor for those elegant place cards you’ve been wanting. It isn’t difficult to duplicate wedding bouquets with artificial flowers or make your own invitations or thank you cards.

Many brides nowadays are paying for the wedding themselves. This is both a smart and stressful idea. However, look at it this way: if you pay in cash for something, you never have to hear about it again, you own it outright. The same rule applies with paying for wedding-related material as well.

The first item that you need to take care of is finding the perfect wedding dress. If you don want to spend a lot of money on a dress that you will only pack away afterward, then you can rent the dress of your dreams at an affordable price. Although you know that someone else has worn it, no one else will know and you will still look beautiful and elegant. If you have another family member whose dress is the perfect size for you and she wants you to wear her dress, you can make a few simple alterations such as adding lace to make this dress your own. There are also discount bridal locations, both online and off, where you can get an expensive dress at a really cheap price. Look in the classified section of the newspaper or online sites where you can buy a previously owned dress to cut down on the cost.

Make your own wedding favors or buy really cheap candles at a discount or dollar store. Everyone loves small candles in various shapes and you can purchase bags of tealight candles at great discount prices. Craft stores often have great ideas for wedding favors. You don have to have all the wedding favors alike, either. You can choose to have different types of wedding favors for the guests to take home as a memento of your special day. Since the idea of providing favors for the guests is simply a way of saying thank you for attending, you can just have a little thank you card at each place. The guests will know that you appreciate their attendance.

A potluck brunch or dinner is a really affordable way of having a great meal at a low cost to you. If you ask each of the guests to bring a dish with them for the meal, you will have a great variety of food. When you plan a meal yourself for the wedding, there is a good chance that not all of the guests will like what is being served. This way you are sure that everyone will have their favorite food because the guests are sure to bring the food they like best.

If some of your guests have to fly to the location where you are being married, you can contact the airline to see if you can get a deal on flights. Most airlines have a code that passengers can use to obtain a discount on the cost of the flight when people are travelling to special occasions. When you send out your invitations, you can provide this code to guests that live far away to make it more affordable for them to attend your wedding.

This may sound like a trivial matter, but it really is important because it will let you know what the time limit is for making your preparations.

You should set up specific times and days to discuss the progress of things as well, just in case things are not going so well. In doing this you will be able to help make sure that all things are running smoothly.

You might be wondering what happens when you have done all of this and are ready to get started. First of all, you have to be willing to follow the general wishes of the couple to be wed; that is unless you are the couple and are planning your own wedding.

When planning a wedding on a budget you have to lower your requirements just a bit. For example, you can’t try to have to filet mignon if you are throwing the wedding on a fish stick budget. I have broken down the various aspects of the wedding planning
to the last details so that you will get a better idea of what I mean.

Ideally, you would want to have at least a year to plan the wedding, but that is not always possible or desired. For the purposes of this guide, I have set up a 12 month wedding time line that will certainly make it a little bit easier to host your wedding.

12 months before your Wedding day:

• Announce the engagement
• Set your wedding date
• Create a budget
• Hire a Wedding Coordinator (optional)
• Create your guest list
• Start brainstorming ideas and themes
• Reserve your Ceremony spot
• Book an Officiate
• Make reservations for your Reception area
• Book a Photographer and Videographer
• Book Caterer, Florist and Music (Band, DJ, etc.)
• Look for a Wedding gown and Tux, allowing time for alterations and fittings
• Register for gifts
• Select and call the bridesmaids and groomsmen.
• Agree on a date to order bridesmaids’ dresses and groomsmen’s tuxes
• Choose a destination for your Honeymoon
• Apply for passports, if required

6 months before your Wedding day:

• Finalize your guest list
• Decide on the timeline and details of Ceremony and Reception
• Order/make invitations, and thank you notes
• Make airline and hotel reservations for the Honeymoon
• Choose a caterer, a florist and place an order for the wedding cake.
• Book Transportation (Limo, Antique Car, Etc.) for wedding day
• Shop for any Party rentals

3-4 months before your Wedding day:

• Mail out/hand deliver invitations
• Confirm wedding details and contracts with all wedding vendors
• Choose gifts for your attendants
• Set a date and time for the rehearsal dinner
• Help make travel arrangements for any out-of-town guests
• Make final alterations and fittings for the Wedding Gown and Tux
• Set time with your Photographer for the Bridal Portrait or Engagement shoot

1 month before your Wedding day:

• Apply for the marriage license
• Buy your wedding bands
• Finalize music list and no-play list with band or DJ
• Attend showers
• Make insurance arrangements

1-2 weeks before your Wedding day:

• Schedule the rehearsal a day or two before your wedding day
• Make an appointment with a Beauty Salon for day of wedding
• Send a wedding announcement to the local newspapers (optional)
• Make necessary arrangements for name & address change, if any.
• Discuss final details with the reception Site and the Caterer
• Pack for honeymoon
• Write out all checks needed for wedding day
• Send reminders to the rehearsal dinner attendees about the location & time
• Discuss final details of the ceremony and reception with family and bridal party

Wedding day or day before:

• Visit your Beauty Salon for manicure and pedicure
• Host the rehearsal and dinner.
• Make sure the ushers have the final guest list.

So how does a girl go about creating a gorgeous wedding, on a budget, with 200 guests, fresh flowers, a tent, and one very large ice sculpture? Well, I’m here to help you with that. The first thing you should do is have a seat, a sip of water, and a deep breath. Stop watching those silly wedding shows with the crazy brides, that’s not going to be you, don’t worry.

How do you succeed at planning your own wedding – you take it step by step, keeping in mind that this day is about you and your groom-to-be. So that means you have the right to say good-bye to any drama that comes your way… at anytime. Always associate your wedding planning with a place you love: a little coffee shop, a bookstore, or a restaurant. This will ensure that you are relaxed when you start gabbing about what happened at the florist that afternoon. Rule one: remain calm… always.

While you’re having lunch, or coffee, or sitting in one of those giant bookstore armchairs, make sure to hear everyone’s opinion, but let them know that you have ultimate control over doling out a “yes” or “no.”