Wedding Advice for the Thrifty and Hip

When I was planning my dream wedding I was convinced that not only would I have the hippest wedding around, but I could do it for pennies on the dollar. After a lot of research and planning I was able to pull off a wedding that two years later, everyone is still talking about.

My first step in planning my dream wedding was to pour over all the bridal magazines and websites for what I thought would work for me. I read article after article about elaborate bouquets and wedding favors that I wanted to go out and buy. For my budget running out to spend $2,000 on wedding flowers that are just going to die just was not going to happen. Here are some thrifty tips to have a hip wedding within your budget which do not include going to thrift stores to pick out bridesmaids dresses.

Pick A Color Scheme

Some people have themed weddings, I believe in the color scheme approach. My wedding was simple and elegant with black, white, and a splash of deep red for contrast. Black and white weddings are simple and elegant, they do not detract from your big day by having a collection of rainbow brite bridesmaids. Other popular color schemes that are popping up all over the place are brown and blue, brown and pink, or all white and green. Now that you have your color scheme, go to town. You know not only what color your bridesmaids dresses are going to be, but what color your wedding favors, napkins, and linens need to be.

Get Your Dress For Less

I got a $2,000 wedding dress complete with a, no joke, 5 foot beaded train, for $499. There are lots ways to get your dream dress for a song. You can go to an event like brides against breast cancer where they ell wedding gowns for half the price and the proceeds go to breast cancer research. Local stores sometimes have events such as the running of the brides where Filenes Basement opens it's store to thousands of new brides, selling every bridal gown for $249 a piece. They carry sizes from 4 to 44 so there is something for everyone.

Make Your Own Wedding Favors

I love fortune cookies, but purchasing fortune cookies customize for my wedding was not going to happen. I found that one of the best sources for wedding favor ideas and accessories is oriental trading company. They have favors listed for under a dollar. I ended up purchasing 50 fortune cookies for $6.95 and going to my local craft store to buy white boxes and black grosgrain ribbon. We put a cookie in each of the boxes and tied a ribbon around the box for a simple yet elegant feel. They ended up costing, ready for this, thirty five cents each, and they looked like a million dollars.

Another idea that I loved consisted of taking glass vases in different sizes and filling them with penny candies. The guests would then scoop out the candy into a little bag. The candies could be all one color in your color scheme, I would choose all white, or could be assorted colors from your color scheme.

Flowers For Less

When I was planning my wedding I wanted Calla Lilies, only problem at $6 a pop for mini Calla Lilies I was in over my head. Looking around at craft stores I found that you can get Calla Lilies for a lot less if you go with silk. I started calling around to local florists and found one that was willing to do my wedding in silk flowers. They last forever, are in season all year round, and often times you can rent large floral baskets for the church and reception. I decided that I did want some real flowers so I did use live for the groomsmen and the mothers corsages. I used one artificial calla lily for each of the bridesmaids tied with a dark red bow, and grouping of three calla lilies for my maid of Honor. The result was simple, elegant, an no one knew the flowers were not fresh.

Get Creative

There is so much more you can do with a little creativity. You can make your own programs and get them copied at Staples or Office Max, tie them with a simple bow. You can make your own place settings. You can do just about anything that you can hire a professional for just as well for half price. Be a thrifty bride and save those extra dollars for your honeymoon!