Maybe you want a fairy tale wedding, but you don't necessarily want to sacrifice all the college money for your future kids. Although that's what most of us want, it's hard to keep a 'budget wedding' within budget. There are a lot of ways to avoid stepping on one of those financial minefields that explode the cost of your wedding. Here are just a few.

Don't Hire Unnecessary People:

You can have music at your wedding without having to surrender thousands of dollars to a performer or a band. Here's another option: Make a bunch of CDs with all your favorite music, then have a friend or family member play them for you. This works well with a large disk changer CD player. With little things like this here and there, you can easily pull off budget weddings. You'll easily save $1000 if not more.

Keep it Smaller:

While you may feel the need to invite everyone you have ever known, along with their families and friends, DON'T! You should pick your very best friends, and of course your family. Anyone else should be left out. Stick with your list, and ask your friends and family not to bring any extra guests. This saves you from the worry and expense of having to bring in enough food to feed everyone.

Think About Food:

One of the most major expenses for weddings is the food and catering. Don't bring in a bunch of fancy food that most of your guests can't even pronounce. Instead, consider something like a potluck wedding, or make simple hors d'oeuvres that you can enlist a few friends to help with. You can keep yourself from drowning in debt with budget weddings, and they'll still be beautiful.