It’s almost to the point where we all really hate to open the newspaper or turn on the TV because all we keep hearing about is our dismal economy. And yes, it is pretty bad right now and unfortunately, the experts say we haven’t hit the bottom yet.

Many couples starting out had originally planned large weddings but are now rethinking spending thousands for one day. Are you one of these couples and are you thinking can you cut back and still have a nice wedding? The answer is yes.

If you are at the beginning of the wedding planning process, it is easy for you to keep everything scaled down then if you have already made many of the wedding arrangements such as a hall, flowers, cheap wedding favors, cake, and everything else that needs to be taken care of. Hiring a wedding planner could save you money but if you have the time and help of other people, you can probably do the research yourself and save the fee you would be paying a wedding planner.

The absolute first thing you should do is start a notebook. Inside the notebook, place tabs for each category you need to plan starting with the budget. If you miss a category, don’t worry. It can be added later when you need it. Include the categories you know you want to focus on such as ceremony, reception, wedding dress, bridal party, wedding cake, wedding invitations, wedding flowers, wedding songs, wedding decorations, wedding decorations, and anything else you can think of that will need your attention.

Title the first category “Wedding Ideas”. This is where you’ll start. Jot down all your ideas, designs, add any magazine articles, pictures or anything else such as wedding favors, wedding decorations, wedding dresses that you want to incorporate into your dream wedding.

This wedding planning book will be the go to blueprint as you make your way through the wedding planning process.