There are literally hundreds of websites on how to save money on your wedding. Many, however, are so cluttered with ads, it's difficult to find the ideas or the ideas are few in number and not very original.
In putting together this list, we looked for sites that not only had a number of good ideas for saving money but were also easy to navigate and clean in appearance. Here's our list of the top 10 websites - some unexpected:
1. About.com gets the highest mark for number and quality of ideas, and ease of use. There are ads but they tend not to overwhelm. Nina Callaway, editor for the About Weddings Guide, does an excellent job of organizing the ideas into easy-to-read pages - some with very practical tips like how to "cut out the crap" when dealing with vendors. She keeps the site current with a weekly Cheap Wedding Friday's posting on new ways to save money. She also offers a newsletter, a wedding forum for visitors to share ideas and a blog.
2. Weddingvendors.com, contrary to what the name implies, isn't full of ads and offers practical money-saving ideas and advice without a lot of promotion, for example, how to save money on flowers by contacting a floral design school for a deal. I was reluctant to even visit the site given its name but its ads are mainly text ads so if you can overlook these, you can get some pretty good advice.
3. Weddingchannel.com lists reviews of vendors in different cities by the brides who used them. Weddingvendors.com and weddingchannel.com together could help you get the best deal for your money.
4. Celebrity-style wedding on a budget from MoneyCentral.com, while not a full website dedicated to budget weddings, offers some unique and interesting ways to copy ideas from famous celebrity weddings for a fraction of the cost; for example, how to get a wedding gown like the $30,000 designer gown worn by Britney Spears for $500. This site gets high marks for original ideas.
5. The FunTimesGuide.com weddings' site has a number of helpful blog posts, links and reader comments on planning a low-cost wedding; for example, how to find discount wedding dresses or how to set your budget by understanding all the detailed costs of a wedding. Not all of their budget wedding posts are in one place but if you have time, it's worth poking around on the site because they offer a lot of good information.
6. OurWeddingDay.com offers a number of good ideas from different brides on what they did to save money as well as a free budget planner to track your expenses as you plan your wedding.
7. FrugalBride.com offers a long list of different ways to save money on your wedding in a very direct and clean way. They get high marks for the number of ideas in one click.
8. WeddingWire.com is not a site dedicated to budget weddings but offers a discussion page on saving money with a number of quality posts by different brides on what they did to save money. It's a current discussion so if you have a specific question that's not answered on the other sites, this would be a good place to ask your question.
9. Groupon.com, Livingsocial.com and WeddingChannelDeals.com are similar sites that can help you directly save money. They all use group purchasing to get whopping big discounts. You sign up for a city and then each day they post what will be sold at a discounted price if enough people buy. You can check the site everyday or sign up for an email. So if you're going to have spa day with your bridesmaids, need a deal on a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner, photography, tickets for special events for your honeymoon, etc., you may want to sign up. And you should do it as soon as you know you're getting married so you have time to watch for the right deals. Definitely read the fine print and expiration date - most expire in a year.
10. Amigram.com Life's Happy Announcements is a great site to send a free wedding announcement. So if you had a small wedding to cut costs, Amigram.com is a good way to share your day with family and friends who weren't there. Unlike wedding websites, it's just one page with all your important information - your message, photos, video and visitor comments. It's an "email on steroids" and can be private or posted on the site.
For links to the top 10 websites, see 10 Best Websites for Brides on a Budget
Pat Oaklief owns Amigram.com Life's Happy Announcements, a website for free online announcements including free wedding announcements as well as free announcements for engagements, babies, pets, graduations, anniversaries, birthdays, businesses and promotions, and many other milestones or celebrations.
Announcements can include your personal message, photos, video, link to your wedding or other websites, and visitor comments. Announcements can be private or posted on the site. Create your happy announcement today and send to friends and family by visiting http://www.amigram.com/
Pat also writes the Amigram blog for mommas, nannas and families
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