Perhaps you've been dreaming of your wedding day since you were a little girl, the princess gown, your handsome groom, a beautiful spread and the entire town there. Or perhaps it's something you never even contemplated?who me? Getting married? Oh my gosh, this is really happening! Where do we begin?

Although it's very easy to wish for the perfect dream wedding, sometimes, if your salary is somewhere in the thousands of dollars, not the millions of dollars, you have to prepare a budget. But I'm here to tell you, having that dream like wedding isn't as unrealistic as you think, as long as you're informed and smart about it.

The first step in planning a wedding is to determine your wedding budget. It is important for you to know what you can realistically spend. Wedding costs can easily add up. If not monitored properly, you may find that you are spending much more than you had anticipated. By tracking your expenditures, you can cut back on things less important to you and allocate money to the more important areas. I recommend a good wedding planner/organizer such as Beverly Clark's, "Planning a Wedding to Remember". This is an amazing tool for planning your wedding budget and even provides an interactive budget planning tool available online.

One way of trimming off the expenses is to consider printing your own invitations. Often people don't anticipate how expensive wedding invitations can be. A homemade option is cheaper and can still look wonderful. Purchasing fine paper and envelopes can save you, and they're just waiting to be customized with some professional techniques available with quality software programs. If computers give you jitters, you're sure to find someone artsy willing to help out for such a special occasion.

Oftentimes, designer gowns, wedding favors, gifts and accessories can be found on line at a fraction of the prices in boutiques. Just be wary when shopping. Ask questions, make sure the gown is in new shape and that the size is correct. Correspond with the seller and make sure the dress hasn't been damaged. As a form of etiquette, reputation on these sites means everything, so if you are not completely satisfied with your purchase or the seller was misleading, you can reiterate this by providing feedback. Check your newspapers, local re-sale stores, ask at bridal boutiques for dresses that are no longer being made, discontinued, or clearance dresses. You may find a gem!

Although you may have envisioned thousands of guests attending your special day, you may have to consider trimming down your guest list. As a result, you will be spending much less on food, drinks and the venue. Start by making a list of family members from both sides of the family, including children, then friends and acquaintances. If the bride and groom are paying the full expense of the wedding, they should have control over the invites, however if they are accepting money from the parents they may have to give them some say in the matter.

A suggestion could be to invite certain people to the ceremony and dinner only (especially older relatives as they may not want to attend the reception for various reasons) and then invite more casual friends to the reception portion of the day. Provide a cash bar, snacks in the mid-evening, and all the festivities one can handle. Keep in mind too that this can be catered by family members consisting of cheese, veggies, cold meats, salads, pickles, buns and dessert trays.

Remember too, that this day is for you and you want to share it with all of the special people in your life. Time passes quickly and you want to be able to enjoy all of your guest's company, so keeping the numbers realistic and within your budget will make your special day more memorable for everyone.