What you need are some wedding ideas, on a budget you can live with.  Here are some places to start.  Always look  for unique wedding ideas on a budget that gives you what is most important to you.

The first thing to do is to work out the things you really don’t want to go without.  Just decide what is important for your wedding and use your resources for those things!  Realize that you may have to sacrifice some of the things that were not terribly necessary for the things that are most important on your wedding day.

Some questions you need to answer are: What kind of wedding will you have? What type of ceremony will be performed? What will be the level of formality? Approximately how many people will be invited? What type of reception will be held?  The general answers to these questions will be the basis for all of the decisions that you make to have the wedding of your dreams.

Surf the web for a wedding budget form to help you stay on track.  Then place the form in a three ring binder, this is your personal wedding planner.

If you want a complete system that has worked well for other brides then click here.

Don’t be a June bride, this could be very expensive.  Choose a date in the months that are less popular for a wedding. Picking a day in November, December, January or February (except for Valentine’s Day) could save 20-30% on the total cost of your wedding.  Choosing an off-peak time gives more negotiating power with the banquet venue, caterer, florist and wedding cake maker, possibly getting you better deals, but you have to ask or negotiate for them.  This mindset also works for the day and time of your wedding.  Check out the possibility of having your wedding earlier in the day, preferably late morning. Doing this could result in a reduced rate at your reception site and less cost in food.

Where can you find what you need inexpesively?  Try to find people or friends who know people…there are many amateur photographers, bakers and florists out there.  Research wedding forums, ebay, DIY sites.  DIY wedding crafts, can start with your local craft store.  If you want to create atmosphere and ambiance, on any budget, then non-floral centerpieces are what you can create with some of your friends.  Incorporating vases, silk petals, base mirrors, and lots of votive candles, these are great inexpensive ways to create an atmosphere at you reception.  Visit some online bridal forums to get great wedding craft ideas.

Look for going out of business sales, dollar stores, estate sales and second hand stores.  Some of the things you buy can be resold on Ebay latter and get some of your money back.  There are also places like www.weddingbee.com this is a forum with an ebay type of classifieds site for wedding stuff.  It’s stuff that was either used once at a wedding, or sometimes stuff from someone who cancelled their wedding.  You may be able to purchase cheaper than you could rent it. Check out some of your local thrift stores, garage sales, salvation army and consignment shops, maybe even a flea market.

Food-Your guests don’t need a huge meal, light fare is often appreciated. Guests can help themselves and control their portions.  It helps to have a mid-day wedding to control food cost because catering is so expensive.(Holding a reception between 2-5 is a good way to not have to feed a lot of people dinner)  When looking for a caterer be sure and interview several and see who is “new” in the area.  Just because they are new in business doesn’t mean they are not experienced.  Try to negotiate a reduced price by allowing them to directly mail to your guest list a survey to provide feedback on their service, taste, and presentation of the meal.  This allows them the opportunity to get their name infront of the public and get information to help them make their service more profitable.  Hiring a caterer rather than booking a banquet hall is a good way to cut per-plate meal costs, some caterers provide tables and chairs for the couple’s venue, many do not.  The price per plate can be nearly half of what a banquet hall would charge. 
   
Venues-Talk to your favorite restaurant to see how much it would cost to rent a private room or even the whole place, works best during non-peak hours.  Avoid planning your event during typically busy times.  You can save money by renting a venue that will allow you to bring your own caterer.  If a couple decides to have the reception at a banquet hall, cutting back the guest list by even 10 people can save around $1,000.  Search in your local phone book for botanical gardens or nice parks for your reception venue.  The key to a nice garden reception is beautiful flowers and greenery. Pick a location with colorful landscaping( maybe look at a short distance out of town).  You might consider renting a miniature golf course as many have party facilities, with beautiful waterfalls and flowers situated in a park like setting that make a good backdrop for photos and would be fun for your guests.  There are many wedding reception ideas on a budget that will work for you.
For a wedding ceremony look at gardens, beaches, Bed and breakfasts, little local museums, Wedding chaples, Hotels with a nice atrium, private homes, on a boat or at a marina, or even a gazebo in a town square.

Dress-A boutique occasionally clears out old stock at reduced costs in order to make way for new styles.  Boutiques generally change their stock about twice a year in the spring and the fall.  Visit bridal boutiques off-season for discounted dresses. You can save as much as one-half on the cost of a wedding dress, which will still be in style or can be altered and updated to suit your specific requirements.  Shop at discount or wholesale wedding dress stores during designer sales.  Most of the big bridal shops have huge sales once a year, which are typically held at hotels or other venues like wedding shows. Look in your local paper or look online to find out what time of the year the sales are held. Designers’ Web sites will provide a list of sales, and local bridal salons often have e-mail lists that alert brides to discounts.  Boutiques these days sometimes rent dresses as well. After a dress has been worn a few times, they can sell it at a severely reduced cost. Some examples: A bride found the dress of her dreams for $50 (it was $500).  A dress cost $300, it was on sale at a local bridal boutique because it was a dress that they kept on the floor that they used for fashion shows, normal price over $1500!  Don’t forget about Ebay.  Wedding dresses are a great value second hand.  Look for last years dress, you can get phenomenal deals. You can always look online to find a white dress, even a bridesmaid dress can look lovely, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a gown.  
  Bridesmaids Dresses-Go shopping for them during prom season and after New Year’s Eve at department stores or online.  Check online for bridesmaids dresses, look for something simple and elegant that they can also wear later.  There are a variety of sites that have dresses that are not categorized as bridesmaid dresses that are inexpensive, yet will look great.  Let your bridesmaids choose their own dress, in your color of course. This can be part of their gift to you, since they choose the dress themselves, they will likely choose one that they can wear again. That way, there is no cost to you and they have a new dress.  Remember that a bridesmaid’s gown doesn’t have to come from a bridal shop.

Cake-Buy your cake from local bakeries or at local grocery or a Wal-Mart type store. Many of these places actually have amazing bakers that can make the cake of your dreams for a lot less than the traditional wedding cake maker(don’t forget taste is also a factor).  They often have the best deals and freshest products.  You can make it look beautiful, by adding a topper that has meaning to you and your groom and use fresh flowers on it.  Buy a smaller decorated or two tiered cake for the cake cutting and the wedding photos.  You can also have brownies or cupcakes instead of the traditional fare to serve to your guests.  With a more traditional mindset you can have a plain sheet cake or a bunch of sheet cakes to cut in the kitchen to serve guests.

Flowers-To get the best prices, order your flowers from an online wholesaler.  Costco.com has a bulk flowers section if you are willing to do your own bouquets and arrangements.  Bridesmaids bouquets can cost from $60 to $75 each, many brides are opting to have bridesmaids carry a single elegant calla lily or hydrangeas instead.  If you look at things that can be sold after the wedding, this is a good reason to choose silk flowers.  For $400 you can get a spectacular bouquet, all the vases and flowers for the tables, the bridal party flowers, and you can make about $300 back after the wedding by selling the flowers online.

Photography-It is likely that someone you know has a high resolution digital camera and has good photo skills, let them capture photos at you wedding and reception.  Out of all the services you pay for on your wedding day, the photography is quite possibly the most important to get right. A couple can go with a basic package for less than $500, which would include one to four hours of coverage by one proffessional photographer.  Spend money on a proffesional photographer for the important parts of your day, to have great photos to remember, and get a CD from the photographer that you can print and use. Having a family friend at a wedding to shoot the complete day can be one of your biggest regrets.

Cars-Look at rental places for up market cars rather than wedding cars.  Find a friend or relative to do the driving that day.  Don’t spend money on a limo if a Lincoln MKS will be just as good.

Invitations-The cost of wedding invitations can run from $3 to $9 each. Many craft stores sell do-it-yourself invitations that can cost as little as $1.50 each.  Consider the electronic invite or use a local paper products store and select your own invites from their stock, then print them yourself with a nice printer.  Get your guests to telephone or email RSVP’s.

Don’t be embarrassed to barter. If you’ve got a skill that a wedding vendor might find useful, see if he or she will barter all or part of their wedding day services for whatever service you can offer them. 

Always ask for a discount, especially if your wedding is in the “off season”.  An example: A bride decided on having her wedding on a weekday, she was able to get the venue for the reception for much less then normal, as they were just happy to have customers during an off time.

Never be afraid to negotiate or ask for what you want from any vendor, in the off season they need the business as much as you need the service.  To learn some negotiating skills for weddings click here.

These are just a few wedding ideas, on a budget you can live with.  It is a way to start your thinking process.  For a more complete system that you can use with more information at your fingertips click here.