Craigslist Wedding Dress?

I got married in the park my husband proposed in and a potlock lunch followed at someone's house (they have a gorgeous home with plenty of room). We didn't do dancing (because I don't dance) but the only things we actually spent money on were the clothes (and my dress was less than $300) and the silk flowers for my bouquet (they looked pretty and were cheaper than the real thing, plus I made my own arrangement with just the colors I wanted).
I thought my wedding was perfect.

Get on pinterest! They have so much for DIY and money saving tips for weddings. I can invite you if you need it. Also, I got my wedding dress at a David's bridal and it was a discontinued model, it was under $200.00. You can just ask at a bridal shop if they have clearance/discontinued/floor models that you can purchase. You still need to feel like a bride and pretty in your dress, but I totally agree that a big expesive blow out is not necessary. Craft stores that have weekly coupons (think michaels) are your best friend, and when people offer to help with different things, take them up on it! Also, if you are having your reception at a venue that does a lot of weddings, find out if they have decorations you can rent. our's did and we paid $2.00 a table for the rental centerpieces. For our favors, since it was a fall wedding, we gave tulip bulbs (I waited until the week of to buy these because they were 50% off at that time, because the stores expect you to buy your bulbs months before you can plant them) to our guests in organza bags that I ordered online in bulk, some of the bags were irregular so I'm glad I ordered extra. I think we spent about 23 cents per favor and some of our wedding guests still let us know when our wedding tulip(s) bloom.

My hubs and I definitely did our wedding on a budget (and a time crunch of 2 months planning).

My wedding dress was actually a bridesmaid's dress I bought off the rack. It was very elegant and made me happy. If you love a dress and it will make you feel exactly how you want to on your wedding day, get it!

For invitations, there are kits at some craft stores that let you print your own. If you have a Michael's store, definitely go there!

My wedding was small & somewhat casual so I DIY'ed a lot of things - if you're interested I blogged about the projects
http://www.amuhlou.com/2010/06/24/my-semi-diy-wedding/
http://www.amuhlou.com/2010/06/10/diy-flower-pot-bridesmaid-gifts/

We really splurged on the photography, paying extra to get a DVD of the photos and a statement that we own the copyrights to them all. In my mind, the pictures were the most important part aside from being with my friends and family.

We had a simple wedding that cost around $2500 total. I got my dress on sale at a local dress store. We got married on top of a mountain with 50 close family members and had a potluck reception there.

I did a budget wedding! Less than $5000, spread out over 2 years of planning.

We started off planning a backyard bbq type reception at a local church for under $2000 then ended up scrapping it all and going to Vegas for an off-Strip lakeside wedding.

Feeding everyone dinner was our largest expense and still only came to about $2200 including the 3-tier cake.

My dress was $578 - affordable because I got it from the local mom-and-pop store. I buttered them up by telling them how I had gotten my prom dresses there and now I am back for my wedding dress (they loved that), then I asked them to order in a specific dress in and told them the best price I found. They matched the best price then let me put it on layaway but I did notice when I went in for my fitting that they purchased 2 or 3 copies of my dress, each marked up to $900. I was willing to be cheap in every area except my dress.

I purchased my veil from Michael's and added my own crystal beads to make it look like the $180 veil I tried on with my dress. I went to Zappos.com for my shoes.

The Vegas ceremony was paid for by my father (approx $1200) and included a certain number of pictures along with a boutonniere that went to the best man and a bouquet that my mother in law split up for the bridesmaids.

We ordered my bouquet, my husbands' boutonniere, 3 mother's corsages, 2 fathers' boutonnieres, and 2 single stem roses for 2 flower girls for less than $200. It was much more cost effective to order the flowers than to make them myself. Flowers come in seasons just like food does so don't ask for flowers that only bloom in summer if you have a winter wedding. Roses are at more a premium during certain months as well. Oh and I got SUPER excited when I saw my bouquet made it onto my florist's webpage - http://the-palette.com/wordpress/gallery/seasons?album=5&gallery=16
I had made little crystal stems to bling up my bouquet but I forgot them at home.

Table decorations were cheap - faux flowers for the tables to go with votives and glass stones. We got disposable cameras for the tables instead of paying a pro for the reception. Favors were chocolates in tulle circles.

I made most of our invitations. I ordered the trifold envelopes but I made the inserts and invitations myself on my computer (and because I didn't have a printer - the staff at Staples helped immensely).

I had saved enough money I got to splurge on having a makeup artist/hairstylist come in and do my hair and makeup in my hotel room. He gave great discounts to the Knotties. Because I had paid for my hair and my MOH (who got stuck in Texas), he did my mom's hair and makeup and then did my daughter's hair too. He was wonderful!

Extra tips;
Join theknot.com - become active on the forum for the area you are getting married in. I found my florist and makeup person through them. I also got lots of handy tips for keeping on a budget. It was hard sometimes to not get discouraged when so many people were able to spend so much more than me, but I was thrilled with the end results. Also, there are lots of DIY brides there who took care of their own flowers, sewed their own dresses, catered their own meal.

You'll want to invite everyone including your old kindergarten teacher. DON"T. Wedding costs are controllable if you control the amount of guests you have. It's cheaper to feed everyone in a backyard bbq if you want lots of people. If you want catered, do a smaller number.

Don't make your guests pay for their own food.

A friend of a friend did my brother's wedding for cheap. My sister-in-law ordered her dress from China for way cheap and it was gorgeous!

My other married brother's wife rented her dress which I think she now regrets. She went for faux flowers and still has her bouquet.

I agree with you - I can't imagine spending that much money on one dress I'll wear one time. I think if you find a used dress you like that's great!