If you’re planning a wedding, you know that your expenses, from flowers to catering, add up quickly. Fortunately, with a little creativity you can have a classy wedding without breaking the bank. Here are three budget wedding sites that will guide you along the way. With suggestions like printing your own invitations or buying wedding ring sets instead of individual rings, these sites are well worth a look.
1. Best Wedding Budget Ideas

The author of the Best Wedding Budget Ideas site says that she created it after helping her daughter plan an elegant but inexpensive wedding. She offers advice such as borrowing wedding planning books from the library and reading the bridal magazines there, and buying a “special occasion” dress – such as a bridesmaid or Prom dress -- rather than a wedding dress.

2. Dream Weddings on a Budget

This colorful website showcases creative examples of ways you can save money on your wedding. It suggests places to buy wedding ring sets and other inexpensive jewelry, and it features real-life couples with unique wedding ideas.

Among the most helpful elements of this budget wedding site are its “how to” articles, which include how to make your own wedding bouquet and how to do your own hair. It also suggests personalized but simple gifts for your wedding party.

3. Real Simple

Real Simple is a magazine dedicated to making daily life easier. It also has one of the best looking and most helpful budget wedding sites (http://browse.realsimple.com/holidays-entertaining/weddings/budget/index.html). Money-saving tips include scheduling your wedding during off-season, and on a day other than Saturday.

The site also features topic-specific checklists to ensure that you don’t miss any crucial details. For example, The Ultimate Wedding Planning Checklist walks you through the wedding planning process, from a year before the wedding to the week of.

If you find yourself wondering how you’ll ever pay for your wedding, rest assured that there are hundreds of tips and tools online to help you. For starters, check out The Best Free Wedding Budget Tool on TheKnot.com.

What are your favorite budget wedding sites? Leave a comment!