Off Season - June/July and September/October are the busiest seasons for weddings. Consider a winter or early spring wedding. You will find it much easier to negotiate pricing when it comes to reception spots, catering and other services if you plan your nuptials when these merchants need the money.

Bridal Party - The larger the bridal party, the larger the budget. Think smaller here. If you have six bridesmaids, you have to buy six bridesmaids favors. The same goes for groomsmen. By limiting the bridal party to three instead of six, or two instead of four etc., you can cut your budget for wedding favors in half. Don't leave out anyone that ought to be in your wedding, but forget about putting those 2nd cousins you haven't seen in five years in your cost-conscious wedding.

Wedding Photographers - Consider having a friend who is into photography and has a nice camera take your formal shots at the ceremony. Careful. You should really have faith in this individual. If this is not an option for you, hire a professional to shoot pictures only at the ceremony. This can cut your photography obligation in half! Place disposable cameras on every table at the reception for your guests to take pictures. It's amazing how often I hear that these shots, taken by friends and family, are the most prized.

Entertainment - Instead of hiring a live band at $1000+ or a DJ at $500+ to entertain your guests, dust off that CD heap of yours (and your friends) and burn your own customized music selection. This way, you are sure to have every song that's a must, played at the time you want it. Make several CDs with different song types and label them accordingly (dance, slow, background, father/daughter, etc).

Now here's the tricky part. Find a friend you have faith in to pop in the arranged CDs when needed. Write up a short outline of what type of music to play and approximately when to play it and give it to your friend. Don't make this too complicated. If you have a reception hall for 3 hours, separate the music schedule into 30 minute parts or whatever works best for you. If you have to pay your friend $25-$50 to make sure they keep an eye on the CD schedule, do it! In the end, your guests will enjoy themselves and you will have saved yourself some large bucks!

Confections - It's become commonplace to have a groomsmen cake at receptions today. In fact, one of the latest crazes in weddings is to have a dessert buffet, also known as a Viennese Table. Save your cabbage and do without these extra sweets. Let your wedding cake be what it was meant to be. Dessert. Your only dessert! It's worked well on its own for two centuries and it will work just fine for your nuptials.

In conclusion, it's easy to get bogged down by the thousands of details and budget decisions to make when planning your wedding. So, try not to lose sight of the ultimate goal; to enjoy and celebrate the start of your new life together!