How To Have A Dazzling Wedding On A Budget (Slideshow)

Luckily for the money-conscious couple, there are plenty of ways to trim your wedding budget and still have a day that is worthy of your love. From keeping the guest list intimate to shopping the sales and secondhand market, you can still work in all of the little details that truly make a wedding dazzling without breaking the bank.

The easiest way to keep your wedding budget slim is to trim your guest list. Everything in wedding planning, from the food to the flowers to the chairs, depends on numbers. And it obviously follows that as your guest list grows your bill will too.

For "The 7 People It's OK to Not Invite to Your Wedding," click here.

The biggest wedding cost is, of course, the venue. So if you or someone in your family has a spacious backyard, stunning lake house, or even just a cozy living room, skip the venue and get hitched at home. Sure, you'll still have to rent things such as tents, tables, and chairs, but the savings on a wedding space will more than make up the difference.

Being organized as you plan your wedding is important for every couple, but if you're on a tight budget, it's doubly important. Craft stores such as Jo-Ann Fabrics, Michaels, and Hobby Lobby keep large stocks of wedding-related items and have frequent sales, so keep an eye out for bargains.

For "The Complete Guide to Planning Your Dream Wedding," click here

For high cost vendors such as florists, musicians, and caterers, tap into the creative people in your life. In lieu of a wedding gift, ask your talented home baker aunt to make your cake or your college roommate to DJ the ceremony. Not only will this save you massive amounts of money, but using the talents of loved ones will make your wedding day feel all the more special.

If you want to truly embrace the wedding tradition of merging two families together and cut out food costs completely, consider making the event a potluck. On your RSVP cards, ask your guests to check whether they'll be bringing a main dish, side, appetizer, dessert, or drink. As the host of the wedding, follow potluck tradition and make a main dish or two yourself. And finally, etiquette dictates that the  dish guests bring should be considered in lieu of a gift.

To read "For a Budget Wedding, Go Potluck," click here.

On one hand, a wedding dress is a once-in-a-lifetime garment, but at the same time, it feels silly to spend thousands of dollars on a gown you'll only wear once. Stores such as J. Crew and BHLDN have beautiful white dresses that are budget-friendly. If you're willing to fight the crowds, you can also consider shopping at a bridal boutique during a sample sale.

After weddings, many brides will take to Ebay, Craigslist, and message boards to unload things such as vases, table number holders, and  other small décor details. Buying these things secondhand is not only thrifty but it helps the environment by keeping these items out of the dump.

Fresh flowers are one of the biggest wedding costs, and as a traditional wedding decoration, they appear everywhere from the aisle to the tables to the bride's hands. For your wedding centerpieces, consider alternatives such as candles, seashells, or a fruit.

To read "Edible Wedding Arrangements for the Food-Obsessed Bride," click here.

Listen, we love customized drink koozies and matchbooks as much as the next person, but skipping out on bridal party gifts and favors is a huge budget saver. Sure, these mementos always seem like a small cost, at something like $1 a piece, but it's a cost that adds up quickly and it's a detail most wedding guests forget about the next day.