Need Ideas For Inexpensive Wedding

I`m in the same boat with you. We are getting married in August and have planned a Caribbean themed wedding. To cut costs I am making my own invitations, I went to the dollar store and bought cool tropical picture frames that will serve as placecards and also be favors for the guests to take home. We are going to borrow tall vases from all our family and friends and go to the grocery store and purchase flowers and make our own arrangements. We are doing a lunch which tends to be cheaper, two kinds of cakes are includes which eliminates our need for a wedding cake. We are also driving ourselves to and from the wedding so there is no limo expense. We are also asking family and friends to play the organ at church and take pictures. There are lots of ways to have a great wedding without a huge budget, be creative.

Misty,
Try having the wedding and reception in the same place. This tends to save some money. Go for an off day, like Friday night. Saturday and Sunday`s are the most expensive. Week day weddings are becoming a trend these days. Also, serve very simple foods, sit down dinners are usually more expensive. Buffetts tend to be cheaper and you get more for what you pay for. Serve only Beer and Wine, that will save you a ton of money. Don`t go over board on decorations, and really get as many quotes as you can from various wedding vendors to get the best price. Good luck!!

I just had my second wedding and spent maybe $400 including clothes, food and place to have it.
Location: unless you are dead set on a church wedding ( which a lot of times if you are member of a church they rent for free), try a backyard ( friend`s or yours), We had ours at a state park right on the beach. The shelter was $20 for all day!
Decorations: do it yourself and inocrporate friends and family. I bought flowers at wal-mart and michael`s and arranged them in terra cotta pots ( cheap! cheap!) I then painted the pots white. They looked awesome and got many compliments. If you aren`t that crafty, ask around I bet there are family and friends who are or can help you find a "friend of a friend" who would do it for free. I have helped out people like that just because I like to do them.
Food: There again, keep it simple and do it yourself. Friends and family almost always want to help out anyway they can. If they ask, tell them YES!! If they don`t, ask them. Most women especially love anything to do with weddings. :-) Sandwiches, chips, punch. Make it mid-afternoon when people would want a snack and not a full meal ( 2 ish).
The Cake: I did mine myself and it was so easy. I asked around and borrowed diff cake pans and stand. I made 3 pound cakes and decorated with basic frosting. I didnt worry it wasn`t awesome looking when I frosted it because I toasted cocnut and put it on the cake. You could just put plain white coconut too. I added some chocolate "shells" I made with the molds and melted chocolate. You can do white wedding bells or roses whatever suits you. The cake turned out awesome too.
Anyway, Hope this helps!

You can get lots of cute wedding favors at the Dollar Store.