Costs and what nots

If you're going to spend $5000 on a photographer, don't skimp on your venue/location.

If you're going to buy a designer gown, make sure you hire an amazing photographer.

Your budget is your limiting and determining factor. You don't want to start your married life in a pool of debt so stick to your budget. But, don't let it take the fun out of your wedding.

If you go to your florist with all your wants and she comes back with something that's three times your budget, don't skimp on your flowers, think of something else to have instead. If you want an abundance of flowers adorning your ceremony, then expect to pay for it. But if it's just the cosy, made up, complete, tied in look that you want, there are alternatives. You just need to find them. Something as simple as bringing your own vases instead of using the florists vases can knock a couple of hundred of the cost for your wedding flowers.

Finding pretty containers to use for your table centres can bring down your costs and add a really beautiful feel to your wedding. An old teapot at a garage sale $1. An old watering can at the Red Cross Shop $3. 

A sit down dinner for 75 guests can cost you several thousand dollars. Average costs per head at local venues = $85-$145 (that's a whopping $10,000). If your venue will allow you to choose your own caterer then why not opt for something cheap that you know everyone will love?

Burger and Chips! If you're not sure where to find mobile fast food vendors, check your YellowPages, call your local Show Ground or drop by the Markets when they're on.

If you're able to take a few weeks off work in the lead up to your wedding, or you have your weekends free and a few friends willing to lend a hand, then there is plenty of room for some DIY.

Now you're thinking "What's this really pretty table setting got to do with DIY?" Let me lay it down for you.

Candle sticks from the $2 shop - $1 each.

Can of black spray paint - $4.

Loose, short stem roses - much cheaper than florist designed table centres.

5m of ribbon - $3.

Tea light candles are $2 for 100 and the little glass holders can be bought in bulk on eBay for about $30.

You can buy cardboard from your news agency for around $3 an A3 sheet. Cut it up into squares and fold in half to make your name cards. Buy a calligraphy pen for $8 and get practicing.

So for around $100 and a little bit of time on the DIY, you can have gorgeous table settings.

You can find all sorts of wonderful things at garage sales, car boot sales, the $2 shop and Vinnies/Red Cross Shop's. All you need is a can of spray paint to make them all match!

Even glasses with coloured paper, wrapping paper or newspaper in them can look really funky.

Most kitchen cupboards have an abundance of odd glasses in them,  put some pretty paper in them and fill with flowers for gorgeous DIY (and inexpensive) table centres.

Wedding favours are a nice thing to have but when the budget just doesn't stretch that far, it's one of the first things to get cut. Wouldn't you love to send your Wedding guests home with a bottle of champagne? DIY wine labels is the way to do it.

My favorite bottle of champagne is $3.70 a bottle (per dozen) from Patritti wineries in SA (Cellar door is off Morphett Rd, Marion), and you can get clean skins from most cellar doors for around the same dollar amount. Get yourself some printable wine labels from Kmart and personalise your labels. You also don't need one per guest either, couples only need one bottle and families only need one bottle!

Do you really want to spend $300 on wedding stationary that will be on someones fridge for a few weeks and then its destination is the bin? Creating a Facebook event for your wedding might be a bit too Gen-Y for some, but it's free and you'll also not have to worry about silly "Save the date" cards for your guests to pop into their diaries that the probably don't have. Grandma might not have a Facebook, so personalising a nice invitation for her and some of your other older guests is still a good idea, but you can DIY those for under $40 with a little imagination, double sided tape and a stanley-knife.

If you still like the idea of sending a tangible invitation and don't mind that it'll be thrown in the bin the day after your wedding, then DIY your invitations. Head on into the scrapbooking section of Spotlight or Kmart and get busy! You also don't need to make all of your invitations identical. Keep them in the same colour palette and theme of your wedding and enjoy getting crafty and creative.

Use the internet to find pretty shapes and patterns, print and cut. Once you do a little research into wedding invitations you'll soon find what you like and ways to replicate it.

Candy Buffets are wildly popular and are a luxury but you can also DIY your Candy Buffet with a little bit of planning ahead. 

Jars for the candy buffet

You can get jars like this from the home collections at Target and Kmart as well as the $2 shop and thrift stores. Places like RitePrice (whole sale non-perishable food stores) sell all kinds of lollies. Remember also that there's a little more to it than placing lollies in jars on a table. It's the little things that make the difference. Print labels, tie a ribbon around the jars, and personalise the table setting.

A very bare candy buffet - what not to DIY

If you look close enough you can see some sneakily placed mirrors that make the bar look fuller, the jars are also no over flowing.

Adding some funky ornaments to the mix have made this bar appear fuller, note the giant rabbit and the owl. Marshmallows and chocolate covered honey comb take up a lot more space than smarties! 

Flowers, mirrors, patterns and a birdcage all added to make this candy buffet appear fuller.