Can You Plan a Wedding on a Tight Budget? Learn How With These Money Saving Ideas and Tips.

Planning a wedding can be very expensive. However, there are ways that you can have a beautiful wedding on a tight budget. I will share with you some ways that you can cut costs without sacrificing everything that you dreamed of for your wedding day.

The first thing that a couple should do is plan how much they are willing to spend on their wedding day. Traditionally a bride's family generally paid for the wedding; however, times are changing and families can't always afford to pay for huge, outrageous weddings. Leaving many couples to help pay for their own weddings; thus, leaving some of the couples in major debt over one day.

Once the budget has been established then the couple will need to determine the following:

• Location
• How Many Guests
• Time of Day
• How Formal of A Wedding You Want

Keep in mind that a formal wedding comes with a higher price tag.

Improve your smile for your wedding day.

Choosing a place to have your wedding can set you back any where from a hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. A higher priced venue can eat into your budget pretty quickly. However, there are places that you can have a wedding that are more cost effective.

Church - If you or a family member attend a church, most of the time you can use the church for a nominal fee if you are a member. Also, many churches have a place that you can use for your wedding reception. If you have your wedding and reception in one location, more people will likely attend both events.

Outdoor Weddings - These can be tricky to find but it can be done. The only downside is you have to have a back up plan in case the weather decides not to cooperate the day of your wedding. Try a family members backyard, gardens, or a good spot with beautiful scenery.

Court House - This type of wedding usually isn't formal and is fairly inexpensive. You can have a small party of family members or close friends. If desired, you can have a bigger reception at your house or a inexpensive venue.

This is probably the hardest decision that a couple has to make, whom shall we invite. The more guests that are invited the more costs that you are going to have. For example, a large guest list would require a larger facility and more food. Whereas, more intimate guest list could be held in a smaller location.

The time of day that you plan your wedding will also dictate how much money you are going to spend per guest.

Afternoon Weddings - A wedding that is held during the middle of the afternoon, you can feed your guests a few small snacks such as cheese, fruit, vegetable tray, crackers, and the traditional cake. For drinks you can serve punch, iced tea, and water. Add fruit slices such as lime, oranges, or lemons for added flavor to the water.

Evening Weddings - Guests will expect to be served some type of meal if you plan your wedding during the evening. Catering can get expensive depending on the type of meal that is going to be served. And it would be tacky to only offer guests snacks during a meal time hour.

Late Evening - You could get away with serving horderves and cake. If your going to use a dance hall, many couples often purchase a glass of champagne or wine for each guest. Offering a cash bar option to guests is another option for those guests who choose to drink more.

Many couples often spend alot of money on decorations that can only be used one time. These money saving tips can help a bride and groom cut costs.

Cake - Have a relative or close friend make your cake/cakes. If you don't know of anyone that makes cakes, a grocery store often times make wedding cakes at a fraction of the cost. The grooms cake doesn't have to be a fancy cake, and can be made or store bought as well.

Flower Girl Baskets, Ring Bearers Pillow, Pen and Feather, Center Piece Items, Flowers, and Other Misc Wedding Stuff - Can be purchased at a craft store. Most of the major retailers like JoAnne's or Michael's offer coupons for one item. If you plan accordingly, you can purchase things for your wedding a little bit at a time using the coupons. Get your friends to help give you coupons.

Pictures - Ask a family member or friend to take pictures of your big day.

Table Clothes - Before purchasing table clothes ask your venue if they have any that you can borrow if you wash them after you use them.

Music - Play music on your Ipod, MP3 Player, or a CD.

Flowers - Use fake flowers instead of real flowers.

Invitations - Purchase do it yourself wedding invitations. There are kits available for you to make your own wedding invitations that you print on your home printer. They are easy to use. My suggestion for using these invitations is to print on regular paper cut to the size of your invites and then place over the top of your invite to make sure it is center. This cuts down on the amount of wasted invites for testing purposes.

This wedding cake was made by a friend of the family. She baked the cake as a gift for us. The roses and baby's breath was purchased at a local grocery store. Flowers can be purchased at a grocery store instead of a florist, by doing this it will save you money.