Planning a wedding

There are women who have wondered about their wedding day and began the planning before they had even found anyone to you know, be the groom. Since I got engaged I had been pretty indecisive because I didn't have a plan. On the upside, without a plan, I was open to almost every suggestion. I did a lot of reading of bridal magazines, specifically "My Wedding" and came across many gorgeous ideas.

One of the deciding factors for me, was the cost of the wedding. I refused to end up 'majorly' in debt, and we considered the wedding, one day of the rest of our lives. I wanted the day to be beautiful, fun and relaxed, without the regret a year later when we can't have the things we want because we were in debt.

Some of the better ideas I came across were

• fairy lights - use them to wrap around objects like a wire ball. Hang them from the roof, possibly above the dance floor.

• Instead of a guest book, spray paint a tree branch silver, or a colour that matches your wedding. Place it in a vase with pebbles so it is able to stand. Guests then write on little cards (business card sized) to hang from the branch. Great if you want to keep these to place in a photo album.

• Buy paper latterns to hang from the ceiling. You can buy them from all types of stores, from Cheap as Chips to Homeart and Ikea.

• Buying the same gift for every guest can become very expensive, and does not allow for individuality. Have a lucky dip that guests are able to 'choose' their own gift. Guests are then able to swap their gifts if they wish.

• If the ceremony and the reception are held in the same place, during the photos, hire some entertainment such as a belly dancer, bag pipes, dancers, characterturists etc.

• As a bomboniere, consider a pebble/paperweight with the bride and groom's name and date on it.

• Add bright fresh fruit to your table settings in a bowl. eg. lemon, oranges and limes.

• For an outside wedding give each guest a pot and a preplanted seedling. Write your names and date of the wedding on the pot.

I found that while looking through magazines, I saw things that could be made much cheaper than it would cost to buy them. If you don't mind putting in the time, it can save you a fortune.