in your wedding dress, to have and to hold

How much does an average wedding cost?

My brother and I were talking about this, because he's getting married in the near future, and he and his fiance don't have a whole lot of money. I know my parents have offered to kick in some money to off-set some of the costs, but then my future sister-in-law feels that she needs to do things a certain way just to please my mom. That shouldn't be the case at all, since it's my brother and his fiance's wedding, and not my mom's.

I was talking with my brother last night, and we were discussing some ways to drop down the cost of things. My brother and his fiance are very creative people (she's an artist, he's a musician), so they're going to try and do a lot of things themselves. Serena's going to be making her own invitations, so that knocks out the price of invitations and printers, etc. They were thinking of doing cupcakes instead of a huge wedding cake. If they decide they want cupcakes, I could freaking MAKE them for the wedding (and then they'd get a small wedding cake, something they could cut for the people).

Most of the cost of a wedding is in the catering hall. My brother and I were thinking if we knew any caterers or places where people we know work, and that's not the case anymore. My cousin used to work at a catering hall, but I doubt that would help much. They're still deciding on where to have the wedding, and then they'll set the date from there. They want to make their own wedding favors, which would also bring down some costs.

I tried searching for "brides on a budget" for some tips, but they basically spit back everything I've already thought of. I'm doing whatever I can to help them out, because I'm a bridesmaid in the wedding, and I'm the sister of the groom! This is family! I know whatever they do decide on will be fabulous, though.