Frugal is fashionable, no longer a dirty word. And that applies to weddings, too, which can spike into the tens of thousands of dollars — leaving you feeling spent (pun intended) before you even get started.

Having recently been married myself, I speak from experience. When I was preparing for my wedding day (started in March and was married in September 2007) and not having a significant amount of time to do so, I had to pull out all the stops in order to have my wedding look like a million dollars on a meager couple of thousands.

So I scoured books, internet, friends and just about anything I could get my hands on and have come up with a few here.

I do have a confession to make though…..I spent more money on my wedding gown than I really wanted to but that is because we all know…….”it’s all about the Bride”.