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It's not a surprise that putting together everything to create your dream wedding and reception can be terribly expensive. If by chance money is not an issue for you, by all means I'm advise getting a wedding planner, tell them exactly what you want and run with it! But for many, you have a set budget for how much you can spend on your wedding. Do not fret, it IS possible to have a beautiful wedding and reception on a budget … you just have to get a little creative and spend a little more time doing some research.

I'm going to throw this out there to think about first. As much as you may want the dress of your dreams, or some exotic locale for your ceremony, really seriously consider where you would want the money most. Would you rather spend $ 5000 on a dress, that you will wear one time and probably store in a dry cleaner's box in your closet for the rest of it's life, or spend $ 1000 or less on the dress, and put $ 4000 toward the reception or your honeymoon? I choose the honeymoon! My point is, that if you have a limited budget to work with, think about what one or two parts of your whole wedding process is going to have the most meaning for you, be it the service, the honeymoon, the reception … or even the dress, and save most of your funds to use for that purpose, then be thrifty with the rest. I'm just saying, your honeymoon might be more memorable than the 30 minutes of the wedding ceremony itself.

In order to effectively plan on a budget, first decide your wedding theme if you want one, the colors, the time of year, evening wedding or afternoon, etc. Once you have a strong idea in mind taking care of the details is not so difficult. Give yourself time to be able to do a little research and comparison shop between different vendors for their services or goods.

The Wedding Dress

OK, let's talk about the dress. I think all of us as girls and young women fantasize about THE perfect wedding dress, but good grief … they can be outrageously expensive! What options are available? Well, some of you may be lucky enough to have a Mother with a dress your size, in good condition, and in a style that you would actually wear! Does not happen often, but it's possible! If this is you, not only would it be special and sentimental, but you would also have your "borrowed" thing taken care of right off the bat! Perhaps the dress is not your style, it would be worth looking into how it could have changed to become your fairy tale dress. Now do not cringe … but sometimes you can find the dress in a thrift store or consignment store. These are usually GREAT bargains in great condition, and move fast, very much worth looking into! Do not rule out the option of actually borrowing a dress either. You might have a girlfriend or family member that would let you and may even be honored to have you wear their dress for your wedding day. This just depends on how much sentimental value having your own dress would mean to you. Facts and experience have shown me … you wear it once, and then it gets put in storage, maybe pulled out to show the kids, and while beautiful … there's not much you can do with it, unless you turn around and sell it, or pass it down to your children.

Decorations and Locations

Thank goodness for craft stores! A craft store such as Hobby Lobby, Joanne's, or Michael's is a wonderful resource for wedding decorations and supplies. If you know your color scheme just match it up with ribbons, silk flowers, lace doilies, and whatever else grabs you … maybe sea shells and related items for table decorations if a beach theme. They have the colored glass marbles that look so pretty in a vase, and add flowers for centerpieces. Use little lace doilies and fill them with Hershey's kisses or candies, tied with a color coordinated ribbon for guest favors. If you're having a seasonal wedding, get the chocolates in the colored foils to match. Hershey's and Reese's are great for that, Fall colors, Christmas colors, Easter and the like. These are great as favors, or scattered around on the tables at the reception, or featured in pretty glass bowls.

For locations, it is worth calling around, or searching online to see what kinds of package deals are available. Do not be afraid to try to use some leverage between location "A" and location "B", for example, if one place offers a better deal, but the other location is more appealing to you … I can not guarantee they'll price match like Walmart, but it doesnt hurt to try! Seasonally you'll be able to find different deals on travel packages depending on your destination. There are a lot of hotels and event locations that will offer you a whole package including the cake, a setting for the ceremony, the reception and rooms.

Your local grocery stores are a good resource for your wedding cake, and sometimes flowers, depending on if it's a large chain with those departments. I found that for flower girl flower petals, or petals to scatter as decoration, if you just ask the grocery store florist to save the petals from bouquets that they'll be taking down, you can get them pretty cheap, and in most cases can request the particular colors you need. There's really so much you can do to plan your wedding on a budget, and still have it turn out the way you may have dreamed of.

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Source by Kimberly Scruggs Peick