The biggest impact on the cost of your wedding is the number of people that attend your wedding.  More guests mean more invitations, larger venue, more food and more drinks.
 

Most caterers and venues charge on a per-head basis so the size of the guest list makes a big difference.  Start your guest list with a fantasy list – include any and everyone you’d like to invite if money was not an option.  Then come back to the real world and see how your list compares to the size of your venue and budget.    Be sure to ask all persons involved to provide names for the list - your parents will have their own ideas of who should be on this list.  When including suggestions from others, ask them to rank them by level of importance (Aunt Susie #1, co-worker from three jobs ago, #463). 

Next, organize them into two categories – the “A” list and “B” list.  The A list are the must-have’s - immediate family, favorite Uncle, etc.  The B list while still important, you could skip over if needed such as a close co-worker.   It is a good rule of thumb to invite approximately 10-20% more than your target number as that is the average of how many will decline.  If most guests are traveling from out of state, that number can climb as high as 50%.  Start by mailing all invitations to the A list first, and for every regret, mail an invitation on the B list.  Just be careful not to make it obvious that you have two lists with large gaps of time in between.

When it comes to planning a wedding on a budget, embrace the power of Ebay! You can find virtually all the “extra” items you need and rack up huge savings.

I purchased my veil on Ebay for less than $20 including shipping, compared to the $150 price tag at a bridal salon. Ebay is a great resource for low-price head pieces, flower girl dresses, candles, aisle runners, decorations, and even wedding rings! My husband wanted a titanium or tungsten wedding band because of its durability and scratch-resistant material considering his line of work. We found a beautiful tungsten ring for $25 on Ebay which I later took to a local jeweler for engraving for an additional $25. Compare that to the $200 at a national chain or local jeweler!

Another great resource is Craigslist. This free, online classified site is full of wedding vendors in the area, and also local brides wanting to sell their gently-used items. Do your research, and watch out for scammers!

He finally proposed, you said yes, and now all conversations start with “Have you set a date?”  Now that it’s socially acceptable for you to start buying the wedding planning books and registering at The Knot (it’s okay – we know you already had an account), your journey will be easier if you have good resources along the way.

 
One of the biggest savings in planning my wedding was my wedding dress.  I spent an amazing $219 (including shipping) to have my dress custom made in Hong Kong, China.  It sounds crazy, and I will admit it took a leap of faith, but it was a great experience.  I had found two dresses that I loved at a local bridal salon, but both were priced over $1,000, and of course they were private labels which made finding a duplicate impossible.  I went online and found this website, www.1koo.com, a store in China that sold wedding gowns super cheap.  None of their designs had all the elements I was looking for, so I sent an e-mail with my favorite pictures of a top, bottom and back and asked if they could make a dress combining all three pictures.  I had a response back in less than 24 hours:  yes,  $219 please, and you’ll have it in two weeks.  TWO WEEKS?  Wow.

Now if you go this route, I have two additional pieces of advice.  First, make sure your friend or hubby-to-be or seamstress measures correctly.  I went to a seamstress to be measured so I could e-mail all the correct measurements, and I still ended needing it altered.  Nothing short of ZZZ boobs would have held up this dress.  The length was perfect however, and if you are short like me, you’ll save big money not having to shorten all that material.

Second,  don’t be alarmed when you get the package.  When I picked up my package from the post office, it was the size of a shoe box.  I asked the man if this was the right package or if there was another box.  Surely, my super-sized puffy princess-style wedding gown with full train did not fit in this box.  But it did!

So do your research, drink a couple glasses of wine, and go for it.  If it turns out beautiful which mine did, you’ll have saved hundreds of dollars, maybe more.  If it turns out horrible, you can always sell it on E-bay and start over!