Most brides realize that their wedding day dreams can come with an expensive price tag. Here are just a few tips from Two Ladies that will help to keep the costs down. These tips will help you to save money without making huge sacrifices. By making the time to plan and investigate, you will be amazed at the amount of money that can be saved.

Order a small wedding cake for the cake table to display and a large sheet cake to cut and serve from the kitchen. Serve the cake as the dessert to complete your meal and forget about sweets.

Rent, borrow or make as many items as possible! Some items you can almost always borrow from a friend or relative are a cake knife and serving set, toasting glasses, jewelry and sometimes even shoes. You can sometimes enlist a few friends to help with party favors, ribbons, table decorations, veil and headpiece, bridal purse, ring bearer pillow and the cake top to reduce costs.

Instead of hiring a florist, make items or contact a local floral design school and hire them to provide your flowers. Carry a small bouquet or one flower and have your attendants do the same. The bridesmaids bouquets can double as flower arrangements on the head table.

When shopping for dresses shop catalog stores, consignment shops, discontinued gown racks, the Internet and newspaper ads. Remember, it is always great if you can count on a relative to make them for you. I am sure they would be honored.

When setting the wedding date you may want to consider choosing a Friday or another day rather than a Saturday as many vendors will offer a discount and it usually trims off several dollars per guest at your dinner reception. Choose a buffet or plate dinner versus a sit-down dinner. Serve chicken or pasta; it is less expensive. In addition, you may want to decide on a morning or afternoon reception and serve cake, punch, and hors d'oeuvres. Serve beer, wine or just host a cocktail hour. If possible, purchase your liquor from wholesalers. You can also check with culinary and bakery schools in your area to see if they can help with food preparation; many will prepare the food for its cost.

Rent a luxury vehicle just for the bride and groom to save on the expense of a limousine. The other members of the Bridal Party will be happy to ride with their spouse, to the reception.

When choosing your wedding invitation, select one that will only require one stamp. Another great tip is to have dual cards printed with your reception information added on the ceremony invitation to eliminate the expense of the reception card.

For more great money saving tips, be sure to contact Two Ladies and a Bride. We can help you to plan your budget to go a long way and make sure you have a wonderful wedding no matter what your budget may be.

If you have been dancing a lot or have a tendency to shine, remember to apply a sheer pressed powder (loose powder could spill on your dress - too dangerous!) or blotting papers to the entire T-zone. Women always remember to dab their noses but often forget about their foreheads or apples of their cheeks.

A wedding theme doesn't have to be cheesy or expensive - it can serve as a common thread that ties your whole wedding weekent together. A theme can even be different textures or a shape. For example, doing a square cake, square glasses, square plates, square tables, square invites, square floral centerpieces - you get the picture!

Q - My head is spinning and I haven't even started to plan my wedding yet. How do I figure out the size of my wedding? Where do I begin?
A - Regardless of how lean or luxurious, formal or informal, intimate or grand your wedding, you'll find the answer to "how big?" in your budget. So get out your pencil and start calcul- ating before you start writing up that guest list. The more money you're willing to part with, the more guests you can invite. But you can always scale-down plans to include more guests. For instance, you could switch from a five-course menu with serveral wines to a three-course menu with one house wine in order to up your guest count for the same cost.

Q - We're hosting our own rehearsal dinner and thought it would be easiest to have it at a restaurant. But I don't want to compromise on the elegance of the occasion. How can I turn a restaurant dinner into something special?
A - Rely on the restaurant's maitre d', or headwaiter, to make the evening truly memorable. Call well in advance to reserve your table, you may be able to request a private room or a table that's not in the center of the dining area. Personalize the table with your own special touches, small, low floral arrangements and handwritten place cards, for instance. On the night itself, don't have the check sent to the table. Give the maitre d' your credit card before dinner (stating you want her to charge the total for the dinner, plus a 20% tip). This will allow your guests to experience a gracious and seamless evening.

When the limousine arrives at the wedding site, wait for the driver to open the door. If the entrance is blocked by late-arriving guests, he may wait until the area is clear for the bride to make her entrance. Limousine passengers exit in the reverse order that they entered and the bride steps out last.

Receiving line alternative - 1. An interesting twist is to greet all of your guests as the rows empty after the ceremony. At the end of the service, the couple preceeds to the front row and greets those guests as they exit. The bride and groom then proceed down the aisle greeting each row as it empties. Note: This certainly isn't the quickest procedure.
2. If you're having photos taken between the service and reception, do the receiving line at the reception.Cremming both events in after the ceremony gives guests a long wait until the reception gets underway.
3. If a traditional receiving line seems a bit too formal or time-consuming for you, speed things up. Here are some simple, acceptable ideas.

• a. Exclude fathers, they are completely optional.
• b. Release the bridesmaids from taking part to cut down the line.
• c. Make it just the two of you- great for those with prickly family situations.
• d. If you plan to visit each table at your reception, skip the receiving line altogether. Just be sure to make your rounds before guests start leaving.