Creating that elegant and classy atmosphere doesn’t always have to break the bank. With a little planning, creativeness and shopping around, a couple can easily save a substantial amount of money.

Couples can easily save a great deal of money by opting to forgo professionally made invitations by creating them on a home computer. Quality card stock is readily available at your local office supply store and with the advancement of printer quality; you can easily create personalized and professional invitation.

Often times, one of the most expensive parts of a wedding is the wedding dress. With wedding dresses easily costing a couple of thousand dollars, this is a great place to save a large amount of money. First of all, be sure to shop around and compare prices, check all the local boutiques and even check the Internet. Once you’ve done this and you have a good feel for what style of dress you want and the price ranges, you can start bargaining with the local business owners. This may sound a little strange but remember, they are competing for your business and more often than not, they will be willing to negotiate. Of course the easiest way to save a few thousand dollars is to ask your family members to borrow a wedding dress, often times, a wedding dress is used once, professionally preserved and forgotten about in a closet.

Another great way to save money is by getting creative with your wedding favors and decorations. When shopping around for wedding favors, be sure to check online stores, local brick and mortar stores tend to have a smaller selection and are over priced. Get creative; it’s easy to combine table decorations into place card holders, which also double as wedding favors, some stores even offer discounted and in some cases free personalization on these products. Be sure to purchase from a site that offers “Quantity Discounts” when ordering multiples of the same product