• Ask your florist about what flowers will be in season during the date of your wedding. Buying flowers in season are considerably cheaper than out-of-season purchases.

• Got a friend who’s a graphic designer? Ask her to do the invitations. What about that uncle who’s big into classic cars? Maybe he could act as a chauffer. Little duties that are shared by friends and family can help considerably with the expenses.

• Location, location, location. Trim costs by having the wedding in a place such as your childhood church or synagogue. If your parents are still members, you may even be able to get the use for the ceremony for free. Consider a wedding at home if your guest list is small.

• The biggest single expense that goes into a wedding is food and alcohol. So it goes without saying that limiting the number of guests will go the furthest if you’re looking to save on your budget.

• You can save by having your wedding in the “off season.” The months of May through October see the majority of weddings, up to 70% or so. Since supply and demand apply in all things bought and sold, you may be able to save some money by scheduling your wedding outside the May to October window.

• In medieval England, guests brought their own cake to the party and stacked them on top of each other; the bride and groom would then kiss each other as the stack got taller. If the couple managed to kiss over the cake when it was at its tallest, they would have good luck and prosperity throughout their marriage.

• For the receiving line, the bride and her attendants should either set aside their bouquets or hold their flowers in the left hand in order to shake with the right.

• Help make your guests more comfortable during the reception by placing baskets filled with useful items-such as adhesive bandages, hair spray and mouthwash in the restrooms.

• It is not uncommon for the happy couple to eat very little during the reception. That said, put someone in charge of preparing a plate of food for the two of you to enjoy after the wedding.

• Order extra envelopes (inner or outer) to allow for any addressing mistakes.

• Thank you notes should be sent out no later than one to two months after the wedding.

• Bring pictures of floral arrangements and bouquets that you like to your interviews with florists; it’s much easier to convey your ideas with visual aids, and be sure to pick centerpieces that do not obstruct guest’s view of one another.

• If the vases do not need to go back to the florist, you may way to offer your centerpieces to guests as favors or donate the arrangements to a local hospital or nursing home.

• Before the wedding day, scout out your location (and have your photographer do the same) to determine the best settings for photographs; you don’t want to waste precious time on the day of your big event fretting about where to pose.

• The immediate family members of the people throwing the rehearsal dinner should be spread out among the tables in order to better host the guests.

• Hand engraving makes the deepest cut when having wedding bands engraved, thus results in a longer-lasting inscription than machine engraving.

• Though certainly not a requirement, welcome baskets are a great way to make your out-of-town guests feel at home when they arrive at the hotel. You could include snacks, a map of the area, a schedule of the weekend’s events, and other items that you think might be useful to your guest-perhaps sunscreen for a beachy wedding.

• A casual brunch on the morning after the wedding provides the opportunity to spend some extra time with the out-of-town guests who have come a long way to see you. You and your groom or anyone else who offers can host such a get-together.

• A perhaps morbid, but relevant thing to keep in mind (especially if the groom works around machinery): precious metal like platinum is almost impossible to remove from the ring finger without… well, you get the idea. Gold is a soft metal that’s easily removed, should disaster strike.

• The 10 most-requested reception songs, from discjockeys.com: 1. “You Shook Me All Night Long” 2. “Dancing Queen” 3. “Love Shack” 4. “Brown Eyed Girl” 5. “Hey Ya!” 6. “Sweet Home Alabama” 7. “Pour Some Sugar On Me” 8. “Let’s Get It Started” 9. “We Are Family” 10. “Celebration”