Foolish Money Savers
Wedding Tips for the Foolish

1. Elope. The ultimate money saver. If all the wedding hoopla just seems to be too much for you, don't do it! Take a plane to Jamaica and get married under a waterfall. Go to Hawaii and get married on the beach. Head on up to Alaska and exchange vows on a glacier. Then go back home and throw a party for all of your friends to celebrate your new life and show off your pics.

2. Have the reception in a non-traditional place. Check with your county and state recreation departments. Everyplace has publicly owned properties that are ideal for a ceremony or reception. Forget about the privately owned mansions and country clubs. By going the public route, you can save as much as half on the cost of your site rental and have an equally beautiful place.

3. Skip the poufy dress. Borrow one, rent one, buy a more informal one. But is it really worth spending $2,000-5,000 on something you're going to wear for six hours?

4. Get married in the morning. Everything, from the rental of the hall to the food to the transportation, will be cheaper. Also, the earlier your reception is, the less likely it is that your guests will drink as much. Besides, brides look just as beautiful in the daytime as they do at night.

5. Register for wedding gifts and choose them carefully. One of the reasons that couples say (unofficially, of course) they want a big wedding is because they want the big presents. Think carefully about what it is that you really want for your gifts. I recently got a sheet set for a couple who had registered at Macy's. The sheet set cost $120! My friend bought the pillowcases for an additional $80. Ask yourself how much you're really going to enjoy such extravagant items which are likely to wear out relatively soon. Also, think about registering at a store like Home Depot for things you'll need for your new home.

6. Have "normal" bridesmaid dresses. Any girl who has ever been in a wedding party knows what I mean. Bridesmaid dresses are always ugly, expensive, and inappropriate to ever wear again. Give your buds a break and ask them to wear something more normal. Go to a department store that you trust and choose off the rack dresses that everyone likes.

7. Big wedding/small honeymoon or vice versa. Which is more important to you... the wedding or the honeymoon? Why not be frugal on one and splurge on the other?

8. Skip the cheesy video. I have never known a single person who liked their wedding video. On the other hand, photographs were almost always shared and displayed prominently. Save the money that you might have spent on a videographer and splurge on a good photographer.

9. Don't have your wedding on Saturday night. The same goes for having a June wedding. Everybody wants to do it and you're going to pay a premium for it. Doing anything non-traditional is going to save you money, whether it's having a morning wedding or one on a Friday night.

10. Pick your music carefully. Polls have found that wedding guests remember the music more than any other single element of the reception. If you can afford a live band ask around for recommendations. They will usually have videos that they can show you. Don't ever hire a band unless someone you trust has actually seen them in action and really liked them.