by Catherine Oz

Created on: June 03, 2009

It's a common sight in the aisles at bookstores and libraries - cuddling, cute newly-engaged couples thumbing through wedding planners and bridal magazines. It's a beautiful sight - that is, until they drop the magazines in horror, amazed that a wedding today often costs as much as a down payment on a house or a nice four-door sedan.

Luckily for frugal brides and grooms, there are many fabulous ways to hold a formal wedding on an informal budget. Here are the easiest ways to slash your cash:

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION - When I got married a few years ago in a small Northern town, my bridesmaids paid $50 for hair and makeup. As a bridesmaid in my good friend's big-city wedding this summer, I'll be shelling out nearly $200 for a professional 'do. This is the curse of the city: Everything, from catering to photography to matching shoes, is bound to be more expensive. If you live in a place like New York, Chicago, or L.A., consider driving out to a less-populated town an hour or two away. What you'll spend in gas money is a drop in the bucket compared to what you'll save on the wedding itself.

DOWNSIZE YOUR APPETITE - If you're not completely sold on a formal, sit-down meal, consider converting to an hors d'ouveurs reception, brunch, breakfast or something else a little less traditional. If you desperately want dinner, have your caterer serve a buffet, which cuts their costs, and, in turn, yours - they don't need to have as many staff present at your event.

MAKE YOUR OWN INVITES - You might be tempted to send an ecard or just pick up the phone and call, but don't go that route - a formal wedding is one of the few last events in the world where you'll need to send formal invitations through the mail. Design and print your own using a word processor, pretty cardstock you can buy from any number of online discounters and a friend's inkjet printer. If you can give up raised lettering and thermography, you can save hundreds. I bought a Hewlett-Packard color laser jet to print my invitations and still spent less than I would have if I ordered them through an invitation company. What's more, I still have the printer.

CUT A DIFFERENT CAKE - Gorgeous, multi-tiered wedding cakes go for $500 or more these days. Many bakers, though, will make you a less-complicated, one-layer cake for you to cut in the photos that is just as gorgeous as the big ones - while, in the kitchen, the caterers cut a less-expensive sheet cake for the guests. The only one who will know how much money you saved as you're chowing down - is you.

TIMING IS ESSENTIAL - Ignore Saturday afternoon night like it's the plague. It's less expensive to get married on Friday night or during the week. If you must have Saturday, have an early-morning ceremony and a lunch reception.

KEEP IT NATURAL - You really don't need pew bows, flowers wound around the entrances to the hall, or a white aisle runner. When looking for churches, beaches and reception halls, pick a natural environment you like that needs little other embellishment. Remember, nobody's staring at the church. Once the opening processional finishes, all eyes will be on you anyway.

Cutting costs on your wedding is easier than it looks. All it needs is a little creative thinking, research and time - and you won't need to give up any of your nuptial-day dreams.

Learn more about this author, Catherine Oz.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.