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Where you allocate those wedding dollars depends on what's nearest and dearest to your dreams. Find out how to prioritize and save.

Why spend a fortune on invitations? That’s what Heidi Van Vliet, 26, was thinking as she planned her September 2000 wedding. All Heidi could envision was her 200 guests tossing all that pretty paper into the trash after they responded. She also couldn’t bring herself to pay top dollar for a dress she’d only wear once.

So she chose elegant yet simple, inexpensive invites, and scored a Vera Wang gown at a sample sale. In addition, Heidi and her now-husband, Mauricio Barraza, 29, who live in Boston, booked a Latin band to play familiar ethnic tunes. They also decided to hire a DJ for dancing—and saved a few bucks by asking a friend to spin the tunes. This is not to say that the couple skimped on their affair—the wedding was held under a tent overlooking a golf course in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They just spent more on the items they deemed most important, like the food and location, and less on the ones that, in their estimation, seemed more trivial.

"I think it definitely comes down to personal preference," says Heidi. "When you’re working with a budget of any kind, you’re definitely going to need to cut in certain areas in order to focus on the things that are important to you."

Whether you have $5,000 or $50,000 to spend, you often need to work within the confines of a set budget when planning your wedding. Before you hire professionals or view venues, it’s a good idea to sit down and figure out where to splurge and where to cut costs.

"Working with a budget does not mean settling for the ‘B’ version of anything," says Susan Holland, owner of Susan Holland & Company, Inc., an event design and catering firm in New York City. "It’s about figuring out which things you are willing to rethink. The result should be that you have a version of the best of everything."

Setting the Stage

Just like the backdrop for a play, the location and decor of your wedding ceremony and reception set the stage for your affair. Early in the process, you need to decide what atmosphere you want, and to figure out how much of your planning budget it's worth to create it.

"Usually, the couple has talked about what they envision to be the perfect day, and a lot of that has to do with the location," says Francesca Abbracciamento, a wedding planner and owner of the New York City–based Francesca Events. "Location is usually one of those things that should be a spending priority."

New York City residents Paula, 44, and Steven Zirinsky, 42, who tied the knot in May 2001, wanted a stand-out site. "When I started calling for prices, I realized that a great setting comes with a high cost," says Paula. They considered the Boathouse, a beautiful restaurant overlooking the lake in Central Park. Elegant? Yes. Inexpensive? Well, no. But the couple had already fallen in love with the location. To save money, they booked a Thursday-night wedding. "It was still costly, but it went from being really expensive to being reasonable enough to work with," says Paula.

Budget tips: If a big-deal location is not a big deal to you, check first with your house of worship; many have attached or affiliated halls in which you can host your shindig for a lot less than, say, a big hotel or fancy catering hall. You might also look into locations where you'll only have to pay a small fee, like a public park, museum or historic building. (Even though you'll then have to figure in catering costs, you'll usually have more room to negotiate such things as food and liquor with individual vendors than you might with a catering hall, hotel or restaurant, which often have established per-person prices.) And, if you have your heart set on a location that commands big bucks, you can still save some money; consider planning an afternoon or weeknight affair. In addition, there are a few months of the year, like January and February, during which prices can often be negotiated, says Abbracciamento.

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