I'm a tightwad who married a tightwad. We got married at the courthouse for $45.00. $20.oo paperwork, $25.00 tip to the dude who did the honors.

Did the same thing my first marriage. Put all the saved money on furniture and stuff we actually needed. JMHO.

DH and I married when we were 19 and 20 and to be honest, the details didn't really matter to us as much as they do for most people. However, we had one of the most beautiful weddings and we probably spent less than $400 of our own money. The lady that made my dress not only made it, but surprised me by paying for the fabric. She also made all the brides maids dresses. The lady that made our cake donated her time and only charged us for the materials. The lady that arranged our flowers did it for just the cost of the flowers, which she was able to get wholesale, because she was a professional florist. We rented the runner and candleabra (sp?). We did order our invitations, but designed a program handout for the guests, which was printed cheaply at Kinko's. We didn't have a meal, but had mints and nuts and punch. Our church let us have the reception there, but they didn't allow alcohol, so we didn't serve it, plus we were underage. My uncle had a really nice camera (before digital) and offered to take the pictures. We paid for the rolls and developing, when we were able. Decorations were mostly balloons and those little wedding bell confetti things, with table cloths. Maybe some guests would be willing to donate to the wedding, in lew of gifts? I do like the flower bed idea from Aubrey's mom.

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Frugal is being wise with your money and resources and cheap is forcing everyone else to.

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I worked at a college when we (I) were planning our wedding. I got a student who was studying art (Photography) to do the pictures. It was good experience for her. I think that we paid her $250 and we got all the negatives and it was great for her portfolio.

If you are having attendants, let them carry a single rose. I made the guys boutinerres from silk flowers. Easy cheezy!!

I don't know if it's been mentioned but try your local dollar stores. I'm there a lot and I've noticed them having impressive amounts of wedding supplies now.

Congrats to you!

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~ Jessica

1. Use the talents of your friends and/or families. My aunt is a florist, so we were able to get the flowers at cost. Another aunt was my seamstress. Put the word out - your friends and family members may have talents you don't know about.

2. Negotiate - with everything.

3. Try eBay. We got a lot of things CHEAP there.

4. Ask friends or family members if you could borrow things. A lot of people save things from their weddings (cake toppers, etc.) that they would probably love to share with you.

5. Think outside the box. You can make centerpieces out of almost anything. See what you (and your friends/family members) have around the house. One example is to borrow vases from lots of different people - they could all have the same theme (i.e. clear vases) or not.

6. Don't buy favors from a wedding department! We found a poem that we loved on the internet. We printed it off, along with a little message from us, then rolled them up and tied them like scrolls. People don't keep favors, but I still wanted to have them, so this was a cheap way to do it.

7. Think about what is important to you. What would you like to look back on in the future? Find ways to get those things that are important to you.

8. Have a WONDERFUL wedding day!

We had a fairly inexpensive wedding. For music my step-father has a friend who has a d.h. business and my stepfather paid for that for us plus he paid for the person who performed our ceremony. That saved big time! We did not rent a hall. A relative has a nice back yard near the water so we had an outdoor reception. Also we got married at the same relatives house and we had a tressel that a relative decorated with crepe paper and balloons. All of our friends and relatives brought a dish instead of paying for fancy catoring. My d.h. works for a garbage company so he was able to get 2 large cans for free for the day. Our tables (borrowed) were covered with table clothes from the dollar store and taped because it was kinda windy. Also I got some bride and groom decorations from the dollar store and some dove decorations from the dollar store and then from and Ocean State Job Lot I bought the nicest Hallmark candles for the tables. I wish you the best of luck preparing for your special day. Be creative, it's fun! I'm just editing to ad that d.h.'s aunt made our cake and instead of a photographer we put disposable cameras at the tables for people to snap pictures. Also another relative recorded the event on his camcorder for us.

I also was going to recommend going to the Dollar Store.

I have been to several weddings lately where they gave out a little thing of bubbles and you were supposed to "blow them" on the bride and groom (instead of throwing rice)- it makes a decent party favor and makes great pictures. Try to have a few disposable cameras for on each table for people to take pictures. Either have a simple cookout or just serve a few appetizers instead of a 3 course meal. Scoop out the Oriental Trade catalog- they have a wedding section and I don't think that their prices are too high- cheaper than a wedding store though! IF you decide on having a nice dinner or a cookout- look for the best prices and stock up when it is on sale. I know in our area around the 4th of July there is huge sales on meats in our area- I usually will stock up on meats during that time.

For our wedding- it cost us basically nil! It was quickly planned- within 1.5 month period. It was a small wedding at my MIL's church. We paid for the following: my dress (which was a pale purple maternity dress (yes, I was 3 months pregnant with my 2nd child!) and yes I was bloated and uncomfortable and the dress barely fit when I walked down the aisle), we got our wedding invitations at Hallmark (about $10 for all 50 invites and Thank You cards- yes they were on clearance) and for our marriage license. My one SIL made us our cake (she knows how to decorate cakes), my MIL provided food (cold cuts, vegies and a few cookies) and paid a donation to her church. My Uncle and Aunt took pictures of our wedding. My mom provided the flower arrangements, stamps for the invites and a flower girl dress for our oldest. And my grandma made her tastey Baked Beans and a few other Hot food items. All in all it was a decent wedding- not what we had planned on doing- mainly we got married quickly to appease his parents (we were engaged for almost 7 years- (got engaged when I was pregnant with the oldest) and lived together for over 3 years and was pregnant with our second- they were at their wits ends with us and insisted that we got married and that they would pay for it. DH caved and I had to get married :hurl: - just teasing about the hurl. ). We were planning on an outdoor wedding in a National Forest up north- had the place picked and everything- his parents could not wait anymore though!

We had my brother burn several cd's of songs that we had picked out and then used his stereo to play the music at the reception instead of hiring a dj. We also did favors but we did them ourselves. We made bookmarks in our colors w/ a ribbon on the end and put our name and the date and a quote that dh and I liked.

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SAHM to Elias 3/00, Camdyn 7/03 and Teagan 5/08

BUMP!!!!!!!! Come on ladies.... anymore ideas?? Let's get our thinking caps on.

Just typed something up and lost it. I'll try to remember what I came up with.

Photographer - If you have a college around, check with their art department for a student who's looking for work. Mom found someone locally who was trying to get into wedding photography. We made a deal with her - we paid her $200, plus paid for the film and developing, and we got the prints and negatives. Some of the relatives also brought cameras to the reception and sent us copies, and two uncles brought videocameras as well. Nothing fancy, but it worked.

Reception - If you need a location, check with local groups like Lions' Club, Kiwanis, VFW, etc. We rented the Lions' hall for the reception. $35 for the whole day, and they provided tables, chairs, and a kitchen with appliances.

We had a pretty low-key reception, I guess, but locally, sit-down meals with music and dancing aren't the norm. We had a buffet, with deli and veggie trays from Walmart, and some other food. No music or alcohol, which is pretty common in our area, and we didn't do favors. We got most of the decorations at one of the party stores (Party America, maybe) - tubs of mints, napkins, paper plates, tablecloths, etc. We had a few things to return afterwards, since we bought a few too many plates.

We got blank invitations online and printed them on our inkjet. No RSVPs for the reception, so we saved on postage there. We also splurged a bit (at my Mom's insistence) and got a few packs of napkins with our names & date printed on them. Got those online pretty cheap.

Luckily, my mother-in-law does wedding cakes as a side business, and did all the cakes for her kids' weddings. Look around for someone who does it as a sideline - Michaels here does cake decorating classes, so that might be a way to find someone.

For anyone else - I know the OP has a location already - look into slightly uncommon places. We got married at Bridal Cave in MO - they have a package deal where they provide a photographer, the minister, flowers, etc. It was about equal distances between both our home areas, so we didn't have to deal with favoring one area or church over another. Plus, the Cave has limited space, so we had to limit the number of people we invited. I didn't have a traditional dress either, I found a very pretty white dress in the Coldwater Creek catalog, and even with rush shipping it cost less than $100.

Shop around at dollar stores, party stores, etc. I think we got our thank you cards at a party store, and we got blank cards that just said "Thank You" on the front, in a couple of designs. I see a lot of blank note cards at the dollar stores, usually 8 or 10 for $1. They're also a good place to look for decorations, nuts, mints, little bottles of bubbles, and that sort of thing.