It never ceases to amaze me how a young couple will start their life together with a wedding that equates in cost to the purchase of a house. And while it traditionally is considered the financial responsibility of the bride, that is not always the case in modern times. Many families these days are splitting the cost, or the couple is springing for it themselves. In any case, a beautiful wedding does not have to cost a small fortune. I helped plan my sister’s wedding and the total cost, including the dress, was around $2,000. We had to put some time and effort into shopping around for the best deals on everything but it was well worth it. We also cut costs such as paying a hairstylist and hiring a photographer by asking people we know if they would help. We had plenty of ladies at our former church happily come forward. Also, we found the dress online. While it was secondhand, no one would have guessed it. And what minor alterations to the dress needed to be done, another lady from church helped with those. Despite all of the frugality involved, when her special day came, you would have thought we had spent considerably more than we did. So you can still have that dream wedding without breaking the bank.