Destination weddings are a great way to save on your big day. It may not sound like a possibility, but when researching my wedding, I was absolutely amazed with what I found. There are tons of places that offer package deals on weddings. You can get discounted rooms in spectacular resorts if you plan to hold your wedding on their property. They have really incredible settings! You can get married on the beach, in a pretty gazebo, next to a waterfall, or even on an inactive volcano in a beautiful national park! The sky is the limit if you are open to traveling. And most of these places are all-inclusive, so you also get meals, drinks and entertainment. You may even decide to stay right where you are for your honeymoon!

Keep your eye out for "Off The Rack" sales.  You can purchase dresses that are normally very expensive at highly discounted prices because a few brides have merely tried them on for size. You may need to get it dry cleaned just to be sure, but even if you need to have it altered, you would have to even if you ordered it in your size.

Another option is to wear your mother's or your grandmother's dress. You could have a few alterations made for the perfect fit or to update it a little. You could also choose to go with a dress that would normally be considered a bridesmaids dress. There are a lot of websites on the Internet that have dresses in myriads of colors. But you can change the colors right on the photo. It is so much fun to see what they look like in white or ivory; all you do is point to the color and click.  I would not recommend ordering anything before you try it on as you may not be able to return it. Call around to bridal shops in your area and see if they carry the style, then go try it on. Sometimes they look very, very different in the photographs. In the long run, this could cut hundreds or even thousands out of your budget. Don't forget, you are only going to wear your dress once. You can get all of your finishing touches on sale too, like Swarovski bridal jewelry or Swarovski hair pieces.