Do it yourself; it's easier than you think! 
...and without the middle-men; you're sure to get what you want, how you want it!

Being a control freak, and planning a wedding could be perceived as a pain in the behind.  Frankly, most brides are control freaks to some measure; hence the term 'bridezillah'--however, it's not always a bad thing.  Being a control freak about your wedding can save you THOUSANDS of dollars--and doing it yourself insures that everything is exactly how you want it.  Forget paying wedding planners!

The wonderful thing about an enagement, is that you can determine how much time you need to prepare for the big day.  This will help you decide how much of the planning and responsibility you want to undertake. You can choose to do most of it, or like me, nearly all of it.  But it takes some pre-planning to allow you to do it all yourself.  Here are some guide tips to help you be a control freak and keep it from stressing you out:

Florals; abundant and inexpensive on ebay
Wedding florals are expensive.  It's one of the largest expenses for the wedding aside from food and the dress.  Save money, and buy yourself time by doing it in silk.  I know, silk is never as pretty as fresh--but go to your local craft store and look at some of those silks, they're beautiful!  You can really kick it up with colour and style by choosing antiqued roses and more.  Add fun accessories to your arrangements; ribbons, strings of pearls... And you can start those babies anytime, and make them so you can just drop them into their containers.  Since it's likely you're going to be getting dressed, you can set everything up ahead of time so that it's easy for whomever ends up doing the tables and decorations for you.  The GREAT thing about silk arrangements is that you can sell them again afterwards and get something back for them.  I pretty much broke even with the resale of mine, and I sold them as is; arranged as they were for my special day; they were duly recycled for someone's special day. You cannot beat that!

Fabrics and Linens; most sellers on ebay will send you swatch samples if you ask.
Your venue will likely give you table linens in white or ivory.  Don't pay for coloured drapes/runners if you don't need to.  You don't need a degree in rocket science to sew your own table accent runners/drapes.  A vertical, narrow runner works wonderfully on the table, and laying them across the white/ivory background at a similar angle at each table makes for a very nice effect.  Sew the ends into a point, and stitch on some tassels.  The great thing is that you can probably find fabric in your exact shades on sale if you're a smart shopper.  Want a richer look? Layer it in organza.  Again, this is a project you can start far ahead of time, and it gives you time to find the perfect fabric at a good price.

Favors--you can cut the price in half or more by getting your favor components on ebay.
Make your own favours.  What did I do?  Napkin rings, decorated with silk flowers and ribbon printed with our names and wedding date on it.  What can you do? It's an endless choice of possibilities; sachets of soap, the traditional almonds, a heart shaped cookie with your names written in icing on it, each one a funner project than the next.  Have your friends come over to help you with the project.  Ebay and the interenet are invaluable for these kinds of things; you can find just about anything to make your favours quirky and collectible.  Forget the machine-stamped throwaways you buy at your local craft store; take the time to make something that people will keep and treasure; something that'll make them smile when they remember your special day.

Invitations--Take a minute to browse the many specialty papers you can get on ebay; many hand-made with dried flowers and other embellishments.  Don't be afraid to ask these artisans to customize something for you!
Make your own invitations.  Don't depend on a printer to do it; why?  A. They'll be completely unique B. Avoid having someone make mistakes.  Use natural papers, vellum, a laser printer (from work if need be :D ), dried flowers, ribbon, whatever it takes--get a group of your friends together to create an assembly line, it'll go quick, and the chat and company makes it go by even faster!

Pre-plan--Most venues will give you a schematic of the space you're using; use it to your advantage.
Create a setup-sheet for the reception area and the ceremony area.  You want to make sure everything's the way you want it on your special day, then create a checklist with drawings specifying how you want things set up on your tables--where you want certain decorative items in the room--this will create an easy guideline for the people who will be doing the setup while you're getting your hair and makeup done.  It will give you a sense of control when you're going to be going crazy wondering what they're up to (trust me, control freaks do this on their wedding day). 

BIG TIP: BE SURE YOU HAVE SOMEONE TAKE PICTURES OF EVERYTHING BEFORE THE EVENT BEGINS! Why? Because after all this control-freaking, you're going to be so swept up in the event, you won't even remember to look at it all!  If details are important to you, create a list of shots that you want your photographer to take so you can see for yourself the results of your meticulate planning.

Boutonniers-Use ebay as a source of inspiration.  Look at what artisans are offering and inspire yourself to what appeals to you.
You can make both the bouquets and boutonniers.  It's a great night-before project you can do with your mom or sisters.  Don't have time? Do them in silk ahead of time.  You can do a lot with silk--and they are wonderful mementos for your bridal party.  Buy pack of foam balls, attach a loop of ribbon; and then just cover the surface in silk roses.  The flower balls are outright elegant-and a nice spin on the bridal party bouquet.

The Girls-Treating the party to the makeup and hair on the big day is a nice way to pamper them too.  You can find people to do a good job inexpensively on sites like Craig's list.
Pay for the hair and makeup--It's one thing you might want to splurge on.  You want to insure your bridal party is up to your controlling standards, then you should provide them this service to avoid them rebelling on you.  Bridesmaids can be willful!

Flower Girls -- Don't forget about them!
This isn't control-freaky, but it was such a fun idea, I had to share it regardless.  When you're giving gifts to the bridal party, it's usually something jewel-related--such as the things you'd like them to wear with their dresses on your wedding day.  But a flower girl--she might like to have pretty jewelry--but I knew she wouldn't appreciate it as much as she would appreciate a ladybug shaped backpack filled to the brim with markers, stickers, pretty sparkly pens, paper, and more!  That was the perfect gift for the flower girl; and it was a nice way to say thank you to her for doing this for me.  Think of the kids too!

Keep the Kiddies occupied with art supplies; you can find huge deals on ebay.
Don't want kids crying in boredom during the reception? Make a play-table for them.  Get markers, colouring books, games and let them have fun.  They'll be much happier when they've got something to do.

Special tips for special situations:

•  No father to walk you down the aisle? Walk alone. Have the minister ask the guests to collectively give you away.
• Left someone out of the bridal party but it's too late to change anything?  Ask them to do a reading during the ceremony.  Ask them to sing if they have a nice voice.
• Clashing moms?  Give each mom a specific event to 'manage'.  Have one be in charge of the shower, and the other in charge of the rehearsal dinner.

Remember this; the GREAT thing about a wedding for a control freak, is that it's all about YOU.  Don't be afraid to take things from the hands of others and make it the way *you* want it.  It's your wedding.

Congratulations and good luck! Need more ideas? Don't hesitate to email me!