My fiance and I are planning to be married in October. Does anyone have any thrifty ideas?

I got married last December and did a lot of it on a budget as we were paying for it. I know that because I live in the UK how we have weddings over here may be in some way different to in the US or Australia but the principals are probably the same :)

first of all make a list of the 'must haves' - the things you have to have to make it your day; you want to do it as cheap as possible but you also dont want to look back in the future and think 'I wish we'd had....' as you can't go back and re-do it. that said, don't lose sight of what the day is about - you and your partner making a life-long commitment in front of family and friends.

For starters, we made out own invitations - buying the card, paper and decorations from ebay and online craft stores. i am not a 'crafty' person but with some practice had made something no one else would have. I got some plain card, printed the inserts on the home computer on paper sheerts and attached them using silver cord that i tied in a bow, with silver beads threaded on to the cord. Glued some red hearts and stamped the wording on the front and voila... enlist the help of friends and your partner and you're set ;) I bought the place cards online and hand wrote them with silver pen - but some people let people sit wherever so you dont need place cards and I didnt bother with a seating chart. i made the favours, buying bits from ebay, including the sweets to go inside. I also made small table gifts, which were fun 'toys' I got from ebay and wrapped in silver paper then got my sister and nice (bridesmaids) to give them out when they were seated, as an ice breaker - it was Christmas season so it seemed apt and people loved them.

My dress was a bridesmaids dress, cos I wanted a simple strapless red gown and the one I chose was just right. It wasnt second hand, it was off the peg but the shop took it in to fit me and I loved it. My hubbie got his suit and his brothers best man suit from an outlet, so that was cheaper. My tiara was from ebay, as was my bag and I bought gorgeous artificial cala lilly bouquet from ebay - bonus being I get to keep it forever - no bouquet tossing for me! :P

We had our wedding in the afternoon, straight away cutting costs for everyone, and chose a venue we could hire for free - they recoup their costs through the bar bill, food etc. I invited only family and very close friends to the wedding breakfast and went for the menu that would suit most tastes - no one will remember if you had fancy nibbles or if they had a fancy plate of something unprounounceable... they will remember if it was edible and thats about it :P

I had one free drink for each of the wedding breakfast and included in the budget wine to go with the meals, but for the toast gave the guests sparkling chardonnay and only had champagne for the top table - no one noticed the difference. I didnt have an open bar and no one expected it - its an unneccesary expense and weddings cost enough as it is, plus its not a tradition over in the UK.

I had a DJ quite cheap through the venue but the ipod idea is great and make your own cd to be played while you eat. The crockery and glasses and stuff came from the venue.

I negotiated with the venue re table decorations but i would say you dont need to go OTT with those and can make your own - no one will remember them and a couple of fish bowls with bear grass and gerberas looked really effective - in the evening they were put on the bar with tea light candles in, which are super cheap to buy from Ikea.

My photographer and I negotiated too, and I settled on a DVD only deal, which means I get all the pictures and can print out what i want when i want. I limited his time with us as luckily our venue had an in-house photogrpaher who took pictures of the evening guests, as I think its great to have pics of everyone there - but you can aks guests to give you copies of theres and may be worth putting blank recordable discs on the tables with little cards inviting people to take them home and out their pics on their then send them back to you - people really dont mind.

The cake I found via the internet - a lot of it was done over the internet because I was being married miles from where I live - but shop bought cakes can be as good and you can buy decorations to go on there from most supermarkets. I didnt have a videographer as I am camera shy but thats personal preference - i did consider hiring or borrowing a camera and asking a friend to do it.

I didnt go crazy on a honeymoon - we had a 'mini moon', which was cheaper and closer to home but no less special.

i think that covers most things.. theres also a site called 'myweddingpath' which lets you build your own pages for free, really easy to use and is a handy way for people to RSVP, get involved with the planning etc.

Good luck and have a great great day :)

Can you push it back to December, January, February or March? October is still in the "peak" wedding season and you may pay lower fees in the winter months. Or see if pushing it to late November would make a difference. Talk to the halls you want to rent, and the vendors you want to book, and see if they do a winter discount.

Fridays and Sundays, and Saturday afternoons, are typically cheaper than Saturday nights, since Saturday night is the most in-demand.

If you want to hire a videographer, ask if you can just get the raw footage instead of an edited video. You can always go back later on and ask for an edited video.

Photography will last forever, so don't cheap out too much here if you can help it. Ask if you can have all the photos on a CD so you can make prints wherever you wish, or make your own album through Blurb.com or Mypublisher.com. See if you can do a la carte pricing, rather than having to get a package with an album and prints. Just pay for the coverage and the rights to the photos for now, and consider a professional album next year if you want.

Get a used or pre-owned (maybe never even worn, since some girls buy two dresses and sell one) dress through preownedweddingdresses.com, Craigslist or eBay. Check thrift and consignment shops. Wear shoes you already own (maybe a metallic or a bright color), and borrow jewelry and a veil from loved ones. See if the groom can get his tux for free if a certain number of groomsmen and dads rent from the same place.

If you haven't asked a bridal party yet, consider skipping it. A bridal party means that you need to buy flowers and gifts for them. You can honor close friends and family by asking them to do a reading. Or just let them be guests and enjoy the day.

Use your own car instead of a limo.

Get simple invites online, or use a kit from Target. Fewer inserts = less postage.

I'm also getting married in October with a thrifty DIY plan!

We're getting married in a National Park. It's going to cost us $25 for a permit from the state government. We chose to invite only immediate family and my godparents - a guest list of 17 people. We've chosen not to have a reception, however, have invited people to join us for lunch at a local pub. It's special to us, because it's where we had our first date.

We're not having a bridal party at all. My sister and brother-in-law will be our witnesses and we've decided to give them a small thank-you gift. They'll be bringing their kids, and we're going to buy bubble blowing stuff for the kids, which will keep them entertained, and look great in photos!

I made the invitations myself. A friend of mine also made her own save the date cards, using a photo of her and her fiance, used photoshop to add the wedding details to the photo and got them printed out at KMart for 15c each.

We're not having a honeymoon as such. We're going to spend a few days at a nice hinterland retreat, but have decided to save up and go on holiday for our first anniversary.

The big white meringue dress doesn't interest me at all. I bought a beautiful red silk and satin dress for $170, which I'll be able to keep, and definitely wear again. We've told our guests we don't care what they wear, we just want them there, so it's completely relaxed and informal, which also saves your guests some money too!

The best advice I could give you is that if you do decide to do some ringing around for prices, DO NOT mention the "W" word, otherwise vendors just see the dollar signs and crank up the prices. It shouldn't matter what their services are required for!

-Buy your cake at a supermarket. yes, supermarket chains have wedding cake catalogs to choose from. It will be inexpensive and lovely.

-Reduce your guest list. Then cut it in half. The less people to feed and entertain, the more affordable. Host a wedding for immediate family member and the closest of friends only. No neighbors, co-workers, old high school friends that you have not seen in years, no second cousins. A wedding of 75 or less would be ideal.

-Inexpensive venue idea are VFW, Community halls, public parks, churches fellowship hall, YMCA, Elk''s lodge, Lions Club, golf's lodge, someone's garden or backyard.

-Skip the liquor and only have a champagne toast. Skip the champagne and do a sparkling cider toast to save even more.

-Inexpensive food ideas include BBQ and pasta buffet if providing a full meal. Alternate inexpensive ideas are a morning brunch.

-You can do an hors d'oeuvres only reception to cut on costs. You can only do this if your reception is at a non-meal time (mid-morning, mid=afternoon or late at night) and you must inform the guests. These receptions are typically short (about 3 hours) not to overlap over meal time. Types of receptions like this include cake and toast receptions, dessert reception, cake and punch receptions and cocktail receptions. A pot luck reception is another alternative, but that only works if having a very small group (30 or less) of people that know you very well. Even then, you must provide the main course and the sodas/water/tea. When hosting a pot-luck reception, food brought by the guests is in lieu of presents and are normally casual events.

-DIY invitations and flowers.

-Buy your dres s from craigslist or ebay. Or off the rack. Check David's bridal $99 gown sales.

-Have a very small wedding party or do without. A MOH and a Best Man should be enough and that will keep costs down. No flower girls, page boys, ushers and an entourage bigger than thou.

-Skip the limo.

-Hire a student photographer or have Uncle Mike take the pics.

-Have an Ipod and and Ipod designee be your DJ.

-Skip unnecessary items such as guest book, programs, menu cards, pew bows, escort cards, unity candles, cake topper, bells, bubbles and other useless wedding paraphernalia that only adds to the cost.

-Borrow your cake cutter.

-Borrow your veil.

-Use things that you already have like champagne glasses, pillows and decorations.

-Enlist the help of crafty/talented family members and friends, granted if the have the time and will to help out.

Good luck and congrats

There are loads of DIY wedding website out there for ideas, great starting point. These are some of my favourites:

http://100layercake.com/blog/

http://blog.idoityourself.com.au/

http://greenweddingshoes.blogspot.com/

http://greylikesweddings.wordpress.com/

http://www.stylemepretty.com/

I think the most important thing when planning a DIY wedding is to stick to what your good at and anything you are attempting that is new to you, do test runs first so you have time to buy something or call in a professional if it doesn't work out. :)

Good luck

Loving each other is not enough as a basis for marriage and family. In the real world, you have to be able to pay your bills. Many marriages split up due to fights over money. So if you want to increase your chances of living together happily till death do you part, do it the smart way. Get your educations and careers organised first. And I don't mean a part-time job at the local Burger King. I mean a college degree and a real career. For both of you.

Three years ago we attended a DIY wedding that was lovely. Let me see what I remember.

--Outdoor venue, in this case a public park and a lodge that could be rented

--Flowers from the bride's own garden, planted in her parents' yard

--Potluck dinner, in-town guests bringing a dish to pass from an assigned type (like vegetable, potato/rice/pasta, or protein)

--All china and glassware purchased from Goodwill over a period of months, no intention of matching. The bridal couple's parents washed it all and donated it right back.

--Simple wedding dress, store-bought for several hundred rather than thousands. If you sew, even cheaper.

--His suit was basic and classic, one he'll wear for many years

--Plentiful soft drinks, but only one bottle of champagne per table, not served until toasting time.

--Cash bar might have been nice, but they didn't have one

--Music from a series of recordings played on borrowed equipment--although they considered hiring a local music college's students

The wedding itself will be lovely no matter what goes wrong, and something always does. Smile through it, and many happy years of marriage.

Skip things that aren't "you." For instance, I'm skipping the veil and garter, simply b/c I just don't really want them. I'm not interested in a garter toss, and I think wearing a flower in my hair looks just as pretty. Don't get extra stuff for the wedding just because it's a wedding...only get what YOU want, and it will save you some dough.

Here's a great article on cutting wedding costs:

http://www.ehow.com/how_6033557_lower-wedding-cost...

http://www.cheap-wedding-success.co.uk/do-it-yours...

This website has tons of idea that people have done. All the info I can give you is to search high and low for your wedding venue. Think about getting married on a friday it cheaper. Michael's have tons of do it yourself invites, save the date, name cards. Buy your thank you when you find them on sale. And trying going to your local flower market for flowers.

One of the most healthy foods are fruits and vegetables. There is not any healthy diet without them!