$ Saving Ideas

First off, congratulations Belinda and Brett, and a fine showing by all of the other contestants. I enjoyed all of the stories. On to wedding planning.....We too are on a strict budget. Though I'm not the most creative person in the world, I was able to make all of my bouquets, boutennieres, corsages, hair combs, flower baskets, and pew bows myself. The really great part is, I only spent about $105 for all of this. I shopped around a lot (luckily catching some craft store sales!! :))Our wedding is May 12, and we have 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen, 4 flower girls, 2 ring bearers (my 2 sons), and several parents and grandparents to outfit. I went with artificial flowers of all types, with spring colors. The bridesmaid and flower girl dresses were catalog-ordered (much cheaper, and "wear again"). They are lace-over-satin, very beautiful, and the flower girls match the bridesmaids. We also bought invitations from the local office supply store. They have a design that fits our "theme", and were only $55 for 50, including RSVP and thank you cards. I found white 10 inch by 3 inch pillar candles for $1.50 a piece after Christmas (touse in the reception centerpieces). I guess we've been lucky to have 9 months to plan, and careful shopping has saved us a lot of money. We also found "art" kits after Christmas for the kids to play with at the reception. If we had not already found and bought the flower girls' dresses, we were going to catch the after-Easter sales. Also, we have a local university, and are checking into their music program fo lower-cost ceremony ensembles (sometimes students need public performances to fulfill class requirements). We still need photography and videography (yes, I already checked the college and no luck, lol), and favor ideas, but other than that, we're pretty much set. If anyone has any ideas, comments, etc., please reply to this post. Four months really isn't that long!!! And if anyone would like to see my handiwork with the flowers, baskets, combs, etc., just e-mail me. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can!!! Congratulations on everyone's upcoming nuptials!! Hope to hear from you.