Weddingbee Blog

It’s already November? Huh? What happened to October? Labor Day? Summer? It’s time to start thinking about Christmas shopping and it seems like Christmas wasn’t all that long ago. I guess time really does go by fast during your engagement!

With Christmas right around the corner, I’m starting to feel some tightening in my budget between shopping for gifts and saving for the wedding. I’m sure a lot of you are feeling the same way.

Here are some suggestions for continuing the planning process without shelling out any cash. Yes, there are some wedding planning to-dos that won’t cost you a dime. These are things I plan on working on in the next couple of months when money is tight.

1. Write out your ceremony. Whether you and your man are doing this together or with the help of your officiant, this is a great no-cost, must-do project to tackle when you’re not looking to spend any cash. You can go to the bookstore or the library to check out some books on mapping out your wedding ceremony, including writing vows and selecting scriptures or readings. There are lots of resources on the Web to help you with this task as well. Check out todays-weddings.com for a good selection of poems, bible verses and excerpts that are perfect for a wedding ceremony.

2. Plan your day-of timeline. This is probably something that will change a few times as the wedding date approaches, but getting a good start can help keep your stress level low. The Weddingbee Wiki has some great tips on creating one, plus links to helpful posts by other bees on timelines.

3. Decide on your reception play list and special songs. Sift through your iTunes library with your fiancé and decide on what song you want to play for your first dance, as well as for the father/daughter/ mother/son dances, entrance, cake cutting, and garter and bouquet tosses. Pick out other songs that are must-plays for your big day and create another list of do-not-plays. Ask your DJ for recommendations and check with him to be sure he or she has all of the songs you want to hear.

4. Gather ideas. Browse bios on The Knot and do some Google image searches for decor, centerpieces, favors and invitations. Window shopping is free! Use the info you gather to create your own bio or inspiration board.

5. Start your gift registry. This is probably the most fun you can have for free during the wedding-planning process. It’s like you’re a kid creating your Christmas list with the Sears Wish Book except you get to touch the items and “shoot” the stuff with a gun.

What other suggestions do you have for no-cost wedding planning tasks?