Wedding Invitations:

• Keep your guest list reasonable – remember, it’s your wedding.  You do not have to feel obligated to invite your distant cousins or aunts and uncles who you rarely see.  Invite only those people who you meet regularly.  You don’t want to end up in debt for the rest of your life simply to please others.
• Do not wait until the last minute to order your wedding invitations.  A rush printing can be doubly expensive.
• Order some extra invitations upfront.  There may be additions to your guest list at the last minute, or some invitations may get ruined while addressing them.  Ordering a second printing is very expensive, which is why you should order 20-25 extra wedding invitations the first time, and hand address the last minute ones.
• Buy wedding invitation kits and make inexpensive invitations by hand.  Some of these kits are so great that the handmade invitations turn out to be very professional looking.
• If the wedding ceremony and the reception are to be held at the same place, omit having separate reception cards with your invitations.
• Keep your inserts and enclosures (within-the-ribbon cards, response cards, at-home cards, reception cards etc) to a minimum.  Have only those that are absolutely essential.
• Order the entire wedding invitation (inserts and all) from the same vendor so that you can take advantage of bulk discounts.

Wedding Photography:

• If a friend or family member is very talented with a camera, have them take the wedding pictures instead of hiring a professional.  Digital cameras and computers have really leveled the playing field here.
• Place disposable cameras at every table so that guests can help with the wedding photography, and have a drop off box.  You’ll be amazed at the candid shots that you can get!
• Hire a photography student who is willing to shoot your wedding photographs for extra credit in class.  You will only have to pay for the roll of film and batteries, thus keeping your photography costs to a minimum.

Gift Registries:

While a gift registry will not help you to save money in the traditional sense, it will help you to start your wedded life with all the things that you need.  In addition to helping you set up your new home, wedding registries also help guests who are at a loss for wedding gift ideas.  Consider online wedding registries as well, where you and your guests can conveniently access the selections.

The Honeymoon:

And you thought the wedding itself was stretching your wallet?  It’s not over yet!  Here are some basic tips for having a nice honeymoon on a budget.

• Book your tickets and hotels in advance to take advantage of off-season discounts.
• Instead of going to a place that is teeming with tourists (these can be really expensive honeymoon destinations), choose to go to places that are not super popular but still have a lot to offer (like natural beauty, historic spots and small town environments, here or abroad.  And since you’ll be on your honeymoon, the less people the better!
• List a honeymoon package or two in your wedding registry.