Brides On A Budget

Hey guys,
I just thought I`d share some ideas with everyone, since i`m sure a lot of you are in a position similar to mine and are looking to save as much as you can on your wedding while still having a nice wedding. I`ve been trying really hard to cut costs as much as I can and I`ve managed to so far have a ball park estimate of less than $2000. The one thing I was going to actually spend a bit of money on was my dress, a maggie sottero which i really had my heart set on b/c i really liked the wrap style with a lace up back. However, just recently I discovered the Bari Jay line of bridesmaid dresses that are available in white with several available in that same wrap style with a lace up back and they are available at bridesave.com ranging in price from $140-$175 so I`m really considering going that route, what a money saver! (you can view the dresses on the bari jay site and even click on the color to see what they look like in white, some look very nice, just like a wedding dress when done in white) Also, at the library I found a book called "Handcrafted Weddings: Over 100 projects and ideas for personalizing your wedding" This book has lots of ideas and pretty detailed instructions for making just about anything you can think of for your wedding. Another good idea to save money is in the flower department. Hit up places like Michael`s (craft store) they always have something on sale and usually have a good selection of clearanced flowers too. I bought about 20 stems that each had three large flowers on them for a dollar a piece plus they have small vases for a dollar a piece. That`s $40 for 20 center pieces. We plan on doing the food ourselves (still trying to decide exactly on a menu). We are planning on having ham (a personal favorite) and since my parents have an extra freezer we`re going to buy the hams at easter time (my wedding is next summer) while they are on sale and keep them frozen til we need them. So that will also help us save money. Recently there has been an influx of people coming on this site asking for money or sponsors and I feel that that is unnecessary. My family can barely afford to spend a dime on a wedding and i`m not any better off than they are seeing as i`m a poor college student paying for school myself, but there are ways to have a really nice wedding on a really small budget, you`ve just got to keep looking and trying and get creative. Oh, and give yourself lots of time. I`ve found that it`s easier for me and even my parents for us to spend a little here and there buying stuff for the wedding so that by next year we`ll have everything we need rather than trying to save up and buy everything all at once next year. For instance, one of the dishes we are planning on having is a pasta dish. Since pasta has a shelf-life of two years I find it easier to start buying a box of pasta (spending a dollar or two) every time i go grocery shopping six months before the wedding rather than to buy like 40 boxes of pasta at once two weeks before the wedding. Now that may be an exaggeration, but you get the picture. A little at a time is a lot easier than all at once. Anyway, hope that this long post helps someone out there and if anyone else has any money-saving ideas, please share.