If you are on a tight budget, there are several small wedding details that you skip- you don't really need them anyway! Details like personalized coasters or napkins or imprinted ribbon on your favors or programs are cute, but they are not going to have a big impact on a guest's experience or contribute much to the overall look of your big day.

Want candy for your favors? Go for regular candy instead of M&Ms with your names on them or Hershey Kisses with your date on them- really, they'll be just as good. Other easy ways to save- use the toasting classes provided by the venue/catering company instead of buying your own special ones; skip the engraved cake cutters and decide not to have disposable cameras around (many guests will have cameras with them anyway).

These small items are the details that often go unnoticed, so cut these out and it will leave you with more wiggle room to have the details that will really show your wedding style and the things that are the most important to you!

Photos (clockwise from top left): Shopbop, Lord and Taylor, Macy's, Nordstrom

It’s finally time to shop for THE Dress! That beautiful wedding gown you’ve been dreaming of since you were a little girl. Of course, when you were five and thinking of this time, you were marrying a prince and didn’t have a budget. But no worries- here are some quick tips for finding that dream gown without breaking the bank:

1.     Shop around. You’ll need to go to various stores and boutiques not only to find out which styles and types of dresses you love, but also to be able to compare prices. This will also give you an idea of how certain designers fit and what size is best for you, so that if you come across that dream dress online or find a fabulous sale at a boutique, you can buy with confidence.

2.     Look at dress styles versus designers. This will give you more options to shop around for the best price and get the dress you want rather than being married (hehe) to one designer and the range of prices that comes with her work.

3.     Hit the sample sales. Live in or close to a city? Sample sales might be a good option for you. At sample sales, boutiques and stores try to clear out their overstock and older merchandise to make room for new gowns, which means they offer designer wedding gowns at a steep discount (sometimes up to 70 and 80% off!).

4.     Don’t neglect the sales rack.  Sales racks offer steals on dresses that were on display, are discontinued, or were returned. Maybe your perfect dress is waiting for you there! And no one ever has to know your dress was on sale if you don’t want them too.

5.     Look at department stores. Department stores are breaking into the bridal market and carrying their own bridal lines- either in brick and mortar stores or online. These are worth checking out! The best part- you can often apply store coupons towards your bridal purchase. How great would it be to snag an additional 20-40% off your gown?!? That’s the stuff dreams are made of. Check out the wedding shops at The Limited, Lord and Taylor, Nordstrom, J.Crew, and Macy’s for starters.

6.     Go simple- If your vision is more of a simple and elegant white dress, branch out from wedding dresses. An ivory bridesmaid dress or a white prom dress or semi-formal dress might be just what you were envisioning- with the perfect price tag!

7.     Play Nice: Make friends with your sales representative- she may be able to offer you discounts, throw in free accessories, or let you know when the store’s next big sale is.

8.     Remember your accessories! Accessories can really add up, so you need to figure in the costs of shoes, undergarments, as well as alterations. Don’t purchase a dress at the top of your price range that needs major alterations or will require custom (pricey) undergarments. Also keep in mind that not all dresses are created equal when it comes to alterations: some gowns with intricate beadwork and lace are extremely difficult to alter. Figure in these costs when you make your final decisions.

9.     Go vintage. Mom’s/Aunt’s/Grandma’s dress could be the perfect match to your wedding dress vision. See if they are willing to let you wear their gown for your big day, but of course talk over any alterations with them and any other relatives that have their eyes on that gown.

10.   Consider Etsy. We LOVE Etsy- it gives us a chance to support small businesses and buy quality and hand-crafted items. And believe it or not- wedding gowns are no exceptions. There are several sellers on Etsy that make handcrafted wedding dresses custom made to your measurements, for much less than you could buy a comparable dress at a store.

Want more tips? Read the full article here!

Photo Credits (clockwise from the top left): Beau-coup Favors, Live It Out Photography, Luna Bazaar, and Style Me Pretty

Love paper lanterns! With or without lights, paper lanterns create a beautiful effect at a ceremony or reception. The best part is they can really fit well with the atmosphere of any wedding- from elegant and formal with white lanterns, to playful with bright pink and oranges, to outdoor garden celebration with blues and greens. So many options! Tips for making those lanterns fit in your budget: 

• Get just the paper lanterns without the lights, since the lights are usually a lot more expensive. This way you’ll still get the look of the lanterns, they just won’t glow.  
• Mix it up by having various sizes of lanterns so you can have some of the less expensive, smaller lanterns mixed in with the larger ones, defraying your overall costs.
• If you do want lights, go for the smaller battery powered lights rather than the hardcore light cord sets- you’ll still get the glow, but you won’t have to worry about wiring or the price that comes with the more involved version.
• Buy online at a stores that specialize in lanterns and offer bulk prices like Luna Bazaar or the Paper Lantern Store or try party supply stores like Oriental Trading or Party City (use coupons and coupon codes!).
• Keep an eye out for sales on lanterns at online wedding stores like The Knot Wedding Shop, Beau-coup Favors, Wedding Channel Store, or American Bridal. All of these offer frequent discount codes that you can combine with sales to get the most bang for your buck.
  
• Look in nontraditional places! Instead of going to the lantern sites and wedding sites, try going to drug stores, home stores, home improvement stores- basically any place with an patio section. These stores often carry sets of paper lanterns in the spring and summer. Browse these stores to find your favorites and then monitor them carefully to see if you can score all of the lanterns you need when they go on sale. Just make sure to compare prices so you know you are getting a good deal!
  
• Instead of using just lanterns, buy strings of lights and then hook paper lanterns around them sporadically. You’ll get the overall effect, the romantic glow of the lights and you’ll save on lanterns by spacing them out.
  

The tip of the week? Take a break from wedding planning! All of the planning can get to be overwhelming and consuming, so give yourself a break. Go forth, enjoy the summer, have a cheap date night with your fiancé and remind yourself what it's all about! This is such a special time- let yourself enjoy it!

Honeymoons can certainly be pricey, but there are tons of ways to maximize your budget to go on a completely fab post-nuptial trip. Some of my favorite ways to save:

1.       Rent. Instead of splurging on several nights at hotel or resort, rent a vacation home at the same destination for a week. A rental home is often cheaper than a big resort and gives you the option to have a few meals in versus eating out for every meal, which could help you save tons! And you'll still have that fabulous destination (and in some cases maybe even a better location or view!). Tip: Vacation rental sites like Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO) or Homeaway let you rent directly through the owners, which can often be cheaper than going through management companies.

2.       Browse Bidding for Good. Bidding for Good is a network of non-profit online auctions that is open to anyone to place bids. At any given time, you can find hundreds of travel options and packages to destinations throughout the country, from a weekend getaway at a local inn to a week’s stay at a resort in Hawaii. Many of the packages end up going for less than their value, which means this is a great way to score a discount on a vacation and support a non-profit at the same time! This is also a good place to score a bargain on travel items other than hotels, like rental car vouchers, dining gift certificates, and flights. Just make sure to know blackout dates, availability and any other restrictions before bidding.

3.       Use your Swagbucks: Earning points for free and redeeming them for gift cards= free money to help with flights, dinner, or even coffee breaks on your honeymoon!  Read more about how to use Swagbucks to offset your wedding costs here.

4.       Call in those favors. Does a friend, aunt, uncle, neighbor, etc. have a second home in a perfect honeymoon location? Ask them if they would be willing to let you stay for a week as their wedding gift to you or if they could give you a discounted family and friends rate. Much better than a blender!

5.       Consider setting up a honeymoon registry to have that special vacation. Guests can choose to make a monetary gift to offset the costs of your trip or buy you a particular aspect of your honeymoon that you've included on the registry, like an excursion or dinner.

6.       Keep on top of those online deals. In this economy especially, many travel websites frequently offer some pretty astounding deals.  Some favorites: Priceline, Expedia, Cheap Caribbean, and Orbitz which consistently have vacation packages and cruises for affordable prices, and can save you up to 75% off retail prices! Score!

7.       Save your points and miles. Be strategic about how to best use credit card rewards points and frequent flier miles to get you to your dream destination. If you are in the market for a new credit card, research your options to see which card offers the most sign-up bonus points that you can use. Then put all of your purchases on the credit card in the year or months leading up to your wedding (and as Mom always says- pay it off each month to avoid paying interest fees) and cash in the points when you can. A great way to score free travel!

8.       Take advantage of the extras! Although some couples are shy about declaring themselves on their honeymoon (not me though- I told anyone who would listen!), do it! Many cruises, resorts, hotels and inns will offer perks to couples honeymooning at their property like free champagne, massages, a discounted meal, yummy treats, invitations to special receptions etc. Yay freebies!

Creativity is key when planning a budget wedding. And we're not just talking about DIY projects here, although they can definitely help! Try to approach your wedding planning with some creative thinking. When you are in retail stores, antique shops, or shopping online, try to think outside the box as to how you could use basic supplies or nontraditional materials to create that magical vision of your big day.

Your creativity could be something as simple as spray painting the vases you found for $0.50 at a yard sale or as complex as hand assembling your own candelabra to establish the same romantic atmosphere you saw in a photo shoot. Or maybe this means using your grandma's famous cookies as your favors or reworking your mom's gown as your wedding dress. This creative approach will give you so many possibilities- no matter what your budget! The sky's the limit- just make sure your projects are actually budget-friendly! 

Wedding invitations can range from fun to formal, hot pink to traditional white, geometric to simply elegant. And the options don’t stop there- you have your choice of printing style, inserts, ink color, shapes and sizes, -- is your head spinning yet?? With so many options, you can select the perfect invitation to fit your budget and your wedding style. Here are some quick tips for finding your perfect invitations on the cheap.

1.     Knock Yourself out on Google. There are tons of really fabulous online invitation vendors that give you many high-quality options for cheap—some even below $1 and $2 per invitation set. Some of my favorites: Wedding Paper Divas,  Invitation Consultants, Pear Tree Greetings, Magnet Street Weddings, and Minted. As a bonus- many online companies offer discount or free shipping codes, which can help tremendously with the price. These sites have so many beautiful options in every shape, size, and style out there, so grab a cup of coffee and start browsing!  

2.     Search eBay and Etsy. Several small businesses sell wedding invitations through these sites. They often have very decent prices, and you can read reviews and ratings from past customers. Tip: Make sure to compare the price of the whole package to similar designs at other stores before committing!

3.     DIY (ish). Stores like A.C. Moore, Michael’s, Joann’s, Staples, and Hobby Lobby all have beautiful DIY kits that could rival any printed invitation. Yes, you have to set up the formatting, run it through your own printer, and do a little bit of the assembling, but the bulk of the invitations are done for you- the design, the paper, the inserts, are all ready to go. You can make these even more budget-friendly by using the stores' 40-50% off weekly coupons (available in newspaper inserts or online) for each set you buy.

4.     DIY- hardcore. For all of you really crafty brides, DIY invitations are always an option. This is a way to truly customize your invitations from the beginning. You can select the paper of your choice at specialty paper stores and create the exact type of invitation that is inside your head while controlling your cost of materials.

5.     Electronic Invitations? While electronic invitations are not the right fit for all weddings, they may just work for certain brides. The cost benefits are huge- no printing costs, no mailing costs for the invitation, no stamps needed for RSVPs. And they are very environmentally-friendly!  Certainly something to think about. Still not sure? Think about evites for the rehearsal dinner instead!  

6.     Think about...  Of course first and foremost you want to find those invites that you love and that match your wedding style and tone, but keep in mind some other considerations before making your final decision:

• Enclosures—how many enclosures do you really need? Each card will make your final order costs go up and will make your invitations heavier, thus adding to shipping and mailing costs. Tip: Make SURE you take your entire, fully assembled invitation packet to the post office to have it weighed BEFORE you buy stamps. Don’t assume what the postage will be. Trust me on this one.
• Shipping—Don’t forget to consider shipping costs when ordering invitations online. Look at websites that offer free shipping or free shipping codes to help with this cost.
  
• Shape—Remember that the shape of your invitation will impact your mailing costs: Square invitations (or at least, square envelopes) require extra postage. If you are in love with the square invitations, just order rectangular envelopes for them- they will cost less to mail.
• Response cards—Keep in mind that it is customary to include a stamp on response cards for your guests. To save on response cards, consider a postcard rather than a card and envelope. Then you could use a postcard stamp rather than a regular stamp, which can add up for a large guest list!

It’s such a nice little touch to add a basket full of toiletries in both the men’s and women’s restrooms. These baskets are full of those little necessities both men and women seem to need throughout the evening to make sure they have the best time possible! Here are some steps for putting together two stellar toiletry baskets for cheap.

1.     Plan ahead! To save the most, give yourself ample time to buy items for the baskets. This way you can take advantage of any sales or deals you see along the way.

2.     Make list of needed items. Some of my favorite things to include: First aid kits and extra band-aids, Listerine strips, gum and/or mints, bobby pins, safety pins, tampons, small scissors, Shout wipes or stain remover, static guard, insect repellent (for outdoor weddings) and some basic medicines like Advil and Tums..

3.     Start clipping those coupons! Check your Sunday paper for coupons or print any available online from sites like Coupons.com, Red Plum, or Cool Savings. Cellfire is also a good source for electronic coupons that you can load directly onto your grocery store cards.  Keep visiting and I'll post any good coupon match-ups I find.

4.     Visit the craft stores? For items like safety pins, bobby pins and small scissors, you may be able to score the best prices at fabric and craft stores like Michael’s, A.C. Moore, Jo-Ann, or Hobby Lobby using their weekly coupons.

5.     Score cheap baskets. The baskets in which to present these toiletry items should be low-cost— check out the Dollar Tree, Target or Walmart, or any craft stores (with coupon in hand of course!).

6.     Assemble. Artfully arrange the items in the basket and write or print a small card that explains that the items are for your guests and a cute little explanation like “all the necessities to keep you dancing the night away”.

7.     Appoint a friend or relative to place the baskets in the restroom at the start of cocktail hour and take them home at the end of the reception.

Table linens can add to the overall look of your reception, but can also be ridiculously pricey. Select how you use linens strategically. Need to rent them anyway? Then perhaps opt for a slightly more elegant linen in a bright color and let that serve as your main décor, saving on other decoration costs. Does your venue include linens? Then use those and accent them with centerpieces. Your linen costs can be as much or as little (almost) as you want them to be, but think about these ideas to maximize the impact of your linens while minimizing their costs.

1.       Use the house linens! These basic cream or white linens are included in most full-service venues for no additional fee. Make sure to ask each venue about their linen options when you are visiting/venue shopping. If you can get tablecloths and napkins at no additional cost, the best method is to use those and add color and personal touches through other details.

2.       Rent? If you would like a different type of linens, or if your venue does not include linens , your main option may be to rent linens from a rental company. Make sure to price shop and select the more basic options and solid colors for the best price.

3.       Mix and Match. It’s still possible to create that wow factor with house linens! If your venue offers a few different colors or types of tablecloths, try having half the tables in the standard white or cream and half in another color (or if your venue only offers one color, rent half the number of tables and mix and match).  This will create some depth to your overall look and break up the house linens for only a small price.

4.      Share. An alternative to renting may be joining forces with another bride-to-be and purchasing linens. This may actually end up being cheaper than renting, depending on what kind of linens you would like and if you can purchase them at a discount or sales price.

5.       Shop after Christmas! If you are interested in white, red, maroon, green, cream, or blue linens, you may just luck out in after-Christmas sales! Many stores carry plain, striped, or flowered tablecloths and napkins in these colors specifically for the holiday season. Choose your favorite, buy the store out, and if you still need more have fellow shoppers in your family on call to look at the same store in their area.

6.       Look at both color and material. Both color and material can make a huge difference in price when renting linens.  While neutral colors are often the cheapest, the material of the tablecloth can have the biggest impact on price. If you want something different than the basic white cotton tablecloth, think about that cotton linen in a purple, blue, green, etc. Many rental companies offer those more vibrant colors in the same basic tablecloth for the same price as the white!

7.       Make your own table runners. Want the tables to look more exciting than the basic white house linens but can’t afford to pay the premium linen price? Instead of changing the whole tablecloth, try adding a table runner to the basic house linen. Ask a friend or relative with sewing skills to make the table runners for you with clearance fabric you find.

8.      Borrow. Select a basic color or two, and ask family and friends if you can borrow their table linens in that hue. This especially works well for a more casual affair or reception with rustic charm where it will add to the ambience to have mismatched linens.

Want more tips? Read the full article here and feel free to share your advice in the comments section or on Facebook!

One of my favorite things about weddings is that they really capture the personality and style of the bride and the groom. That's what makes each wedding unique and special. One of the best things you can do- for both your budget and your sanity- is to determine your vision of your big day early in the planning process.

You'll still be constantly adding and tweaking ideas and your overall vision when certainly evolve throughout the process, but if you and your fiance decide what you want your wedding to look and feel like, you'll end up saving time and money. Your vision will be what helps guide the venue, the florist, the catering company- everything! This will especially help when you are inundated with beautiful wedding inspiration. There are so many stunning details, impressive favors, and breathtaking ideas out there, but you just can't do them all! Sticking to your vision will help you decide what's right for your wedding and will prevent you from buying extra items that you don't really need for your day.