smart ways to save money on weddings

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My brother got married last month, and he and his new wife had some really clever ways of saving money on the reception. 1. They hired a culinary instructor from the local vo-tech school (and some of her students) to cater the wedding dinner. This was a lot less expensive than hiring a professional caterer and easier than figuring out the food themselves. I didn't know until after the wedding who they had hired to prepare the food; I thought the quality was on par with professional catering. 2. They didn't do the traditional tiered wedding cake, but instead had a small layered cake and several dozen cupcakes arranged on a tiered stand. This gave it a similar look of a traditional wedding cake, but saved a LOT of money. They also had a dessert table with several kinds of cookies and pies, which reduced the need for more cake. 3. They didn't serve any alcohol, but had a punch bowl, coffee, tea, and bottles of water freely available. 4. A friend DJed the dance afterwards, so they didn't have to hire a professional DJ (granted, this friend does have a professional music background and had access to speakers and lights and other equipment).