I had to plan my wedding in 2 weeks. Yes, TWO weeks. I did it and it was beautiful and CHEAP (meaning inexpensive)!

Ebay had a LOT to do with my wedding, but there is a lot you can do outside of eBay.

1. First, if money is short, borrow anything you can from friends, neighbors, family, etc.
2. But if you want your own things, eBay is a great place. From eBay I got my gown ($50 price for an $800 gown), champagne glasses ($15), my Gorgeous bouquet ($15), my Flower Girl ($60 dress for $12) and Maid of Honor ($200 dress for $5) dresses, Cake Topper ($10), Heavyweight Comfort-Fit Wedding rings or bands ($1500 rings for $515 for BOTH), Tiara ($5), Jewelry for entire wedding party ($20), Flowers Rings for Centerpieces ($60), Flowered Baskets (silk flowers w/Baby's Breath $150-w/more flowers than I needed), All bouquets and boutonnières (with same silk flowers-white colored roses had been marked down due to "water droplets or dew" on them, as if I cared, you could not see them unless you looked extremely close after it was pointed out) , ribbon for all flowers, boutonnières, and centerpieces (wholesale 15x cheaper than from the store and plenty left), Unity Candles ($20), Handmade Garter Belt ($5), Wedding Photo Album ($15 or $20) my Veil ($10) and many other things. You can also get beautiful bows for your pews on ebay and buy tulle in bulk if you want. The amount of things you can get from eBay are as endless as your imagination.

3. All of my other things were gotten from local Hobby and Craft Stores. I found a few beautiful Off-White "Christmas" cotton tablecloths for $5 markdown price. I bought all of my Pillar Candles for $.30-1.00 each, for my Flower Ringed Centerpieces (three to a table). I made stunning flower baskets with flowers that I had bought off eBay and basket bought from the Hobby store ($20) (see below how to do this). I had a beautiful "Christmas Snowflake" vase that I bought from same store to put my bouquet in for the reception, but it was frosted (which I loved) so you couldn't even see the snowflakes. (I was married Jan. 2) I used the same flowers and ribbon to make all my boutonnières with flower arrangement tape (the green one) from the Hobby Store. (Tip: Do some research online and collect lots of pictures for ideas on what you would like your bouquets and boutonnières to look like. Or, you can do what I did and order one Bouquet and boutonnière from someone, either from eBay or retail store, and copy the rest of them from those. Saves TONS of money!!) I found the rest of my disposable tablecloths at a local retail store for a very reasonable price, and they matched my flowers. I bought my invitation and envelopes kit (with even return RSVP's for $40) from Office Depot and printed them out myself, and they were amazing. I had an absolutely lovely cake, huge and more than I needed (we were eating on it for over a week) for $65 from Handy Andy (the equivalent of a Piggly Wiggly, Woodmans, or any small chain store). I also had two grooms cakes. Sometimes the smaller stores offer lower prices on things, so don't be hesitant to call and ask! I was amazed to find out the same cake was more than double somewhere else (not a bakery- a large chain store). I also bought my Family Bible from a local Christian Book Store ($15). It was amazing what I found for a small amount of work.

4. Now I did have to pay shipping charges on my items, but I purchased as many things as I could ( and you can too- there are plenty of wedding items on eBay- from the same seller). All of my silk flowers and ribbons came from the same seller, combined shipping! All my dresses from the same seller (combined shipping)! I did this many times, and saved a small fortune on shipping charges. I still paid less than if I had bought from local stores. For pictures, I found it cheaper to buy disposable cameras from Wal-Mart than off eBay. I put one on each table, and I had a few friends take pictures and I had more pictures than I possibly needed. You can get 2 or 3 cameras for around $8, much cheaper than a photographer, and it's taken care of! No last minute expensive appointment. I also over bought on much of my stuff: flowers, ribbons, even dresses because I wasn't sure of the color, so at $5 a dress, I bought 5 different ones and decided later. The point is, I overspent, but didn't have to, and neither do you.

5. A friend did my hair (almost everyone knows someone with this talent) and I go to a church so I had a place for the wedding and reception for free. I know not everyone has a regular church, so just open your mind to new places. There are all sorts of places, no matter where you live, that you can have a wedding performed for free or next to nothing. Think about your local park. Our park is absolutely beautiful, with pools of water, and a river. It has oak trees galore, and makes for a stunning backdrop to a wedding and wedding photos. If you have to, take a drive through your town, or your neighboring towns, and look for places. Just imagine yourself and your wedding party standing in that location, and you will be surprized how many places suddenly look like they would be great, that you otherwise would have never thought of. Just make sure that whoever the owner/proprietor of the land/place is, that you have made contact with them and have authorization to have your wedding there. Even our local park requires a $25 fee for parties with picnic table usage. But it is money well spent, considering renting the local civic center (where most receptions are held) runs upwards of $500-$800 for a few hours. We did have the reception at our church, and because we did it at 2 p.m. all that we need to provide were punch and snacks. Everyone was very pleased with this arrangement. I heard no complaints. Consider a mid-afternoon wedding to cut down on food costs. I had so many people bring food (and I didn't even ask) that we had more than enough snacks for everyone! Don't be afraid to accept or even ask for help, because you will be blown away by the amount of help you are given. People love to help out, so let them. I had people throwing all kinds of help my way, and I didn't ask for it. Take advantage of your assets (friends, family, co-workers) as they will usually be happy to help. You hopefully only get married once, and they want to help you make it as special as possible.

6. About the Flower Arrangement that I made. I thought of an easy trick that worked out well for them. I made my arrangements in nice 18x12x12 wicker baskets. I used the green flower arrangement foam in the base of the basket and placed the roses, lilies, and baby's breath the way I wanted it. After I was completely happy with it, I sprayed foam insulation (from a can) all around the base where the stems met the foam. It set everything permanantly in place for good. I'll never do an arrangement without it again!

7. Now, was I tired, yes, but was I happy.......ESTATIC!!!!! My wedding came off Beautifully and I will never, ever forget it. I saved so much money, it was unreal! My wedding looked as though I had spend $10,000+ on it.  I think I spent a total of about $3000 (including the wedding bands, and honeymoon night), but as I said before, you can do it much cheaper, as I over bought on many, many things. I have a lot of stuff that I never even used. I am sure I could have done it for closer to $1500. You might think you are never going to pull it off, but you will, just keep looking and going! Don't quit!

8. Start by making a list of everything you think you want. Start at the beginning of the "Wedding Day" and think the whole thing through. Mentally walk yourself through the day. First you take a shower - hair, makeup, jewelry, undergarments, reception dress, etc. So then you know either you have jewelry to wear or you want to look for some. Remember, you might want that Veil, and tiara. Or you might want to put Decorative Pins in your hair. I was amazed what was available from eBay in this department. Start thinking about your dress. After you get your list made, take a good day to research everything online, mostly on eBay, but also look at Wedding websites, for ideas. It helps narrow your searches and saves time on eBay. And every once in a while, there is something that you want to buy special and spend the money on it, so do your research. It pays off in the end. After you have researched and are watching your favorite items, it will start coming together in your head. Keep a notebook and write everything down. You may think your gonna remember where that good price on candles (or whatever) was, but you won't! Write it down. Do your work, and you will have a GLORIOUS Wedding day to remember forever. I DO!!!! 

9. GOOD LUCK ! ! !

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