How to Have a Fairytale Wedding on a Pauper's Budget

The proposal has been made and accepted, now is the time to start planning for your wedding. Although, all of us would love to have the money that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes spent on their wedding, but real-life just does not evolve that way. When my husband and I got married, we wanted to use our children and the younger family members as the wedding party. I wanted to make our three daughters and my husbands' sister, princesses for a day by buying tiaras for each. After the wedding, we rented a limousine in order to take our daughters to where they would be staying during our honeymoon, as well as to complete our special day.

The simplest and cheapest way to get married is to get a couple of friends to go with you to the local Justice of the Peace and let him perform the ceremony in his courtroom. If you would rather have a wedding that is more memorable, but if you have Moet & Chandon taste on a Boone's Farm budget, these tips will be helpful for you.

Make a chart of all of the projects that you wish to try and do yourself. Everything that you do yourself, will cut down on the cost of the wedding. Some of these projects might include invitations, the bridal bouquet and centerpieces for the reception tables. Everything fringes on how much you can spend as to how in depth you can go. The basics being the invitations, dress, cake and bouquet. Shop around at different craft stores and your local department store to see what is available and to compare prices.

Make your own invitations by purchasing, or using an internet provided, build-a-card program. Experiment with it until you get the look you want, then print your project on a nice card stock. You can find card stock in a gift shop, craft store or the stationary section of your local department store.

Make your own bridal bouquet using silk flowers. Shop around at the craft stores and the craft sections of local department stores to compare prices and availability of the flowers you want to incorporate into your arrangement. Purchase the bouquet holder, flowers, greenery and fillers. Arrange the flowers, greenery and fillers into the bouquet holder working from the bottom to the top. Add ribbons and a bow using at least two inch wide ribbon to finish your project.
Create an inexpensive centerpiece by purchasing enough small, shallow baskets to have one for each reception table. Decorate them with ribbon and bows left over from the wedding bouquet. Purchase a box of wedding bubbles, the packages that have the loops on the top work best. Place a flower, left over from making the bridal bouquet, through the loop of each one, tie with a piece of leftover ribbon, and glue. Arrange these in the baskets and add some leftover fillers to complete the project. Now the centerpiece has a dual purpose.

You can make your own cake by purchasing a cake decorating book and the tips required for the style cake you choose. Be sure to start practicing well in advance of the wedding. If this project will be more than you can handle, try having an experienced family member or friend to make the cake for you before visiting the local bakery. Cut down on the cost of the cake by purchasing your own cake topper rather than depending on a bakery's limited supply, this also allows you to add a personal touch to the cake.

Weddings can take place in any number of places, from churches to reception halls. Try renting the reception hall of a local hotel chain that offers a honeymoon suite. Sometimes, when you rent both they will give you a discount on one or the other, in some cases, on both. In addition to giving the bridal party a place to get ready and the bride a place to change, the wedding couple have a place to stay on their wedding night, without traveling.