Planning a wedding in harsh economic times can be tough, but there are lots of ways to stretch your dollar a bit further. Here are the top 5 ways to have your wedding look like a million bucks without breaking the bank:

5. Plan Your Wedding “Off-Season”:

June through August is the wedding season’s typically busiest months, and vendors use this to raise prices. But you can beat the mark-ups by scheduling “off-season.” Booking your wedding October through March will save you loads on the venue, flowers, etc. as vendors will be willing to make deals during their slowest months. Take advantage of fall’s beautiful and natural color scheme, and you’ll find yourself saving huge.

4. Alternative Metal Wedding Bands:

The price of gold just keeps skyrocketing with no end in sight. Alternative metals like tungsten wedding bands offer many of the same great wedding ring styles with the added benefit of being highly scratch-resistant and bargain priced in comparison to 18k gold rings. And if you just can’t let go of having a traditional metal for your wedding band, tungsten wedding bands also come with inlays of 18k gold, platinum and silver as well. Have the best of both worlds at a fraction of the cost.

3. Nix the DJ:

Let’s be honest. The wedding DJ is really just a glorified iPod isn’t he? So, why spend so much on him? Sit down with your fiancé and program a playlist you and your guests will enjoy. Most wedding venues will already have some form of speaker system capable of being hooked up to a computer or iPod allowing you to be your own DJ. It’s almost effortless and will save you loads.

Just hit “play” and enjoy!

2. Scour the Web:

The Internet is overflowing with wedding deals. You name it, they got it. From flowers, to party favors and bridesmaids gifts…. there are deals, promotions and coupon codes everywhere. So don’t be afraid to look around discount and retail sites for the best bargains.

1. “Knock-Offs” can be a Girl’s Best Friend:

What’s in a name anyways? Designer dresses are beautiful but are you paying for the name or the dress? There are lots of discount retailers selling almost identical “knock-offs” of the popular designer dresses, and in some cases they look even better! Don’t let the name on the tag sway you. You’ll still look like a million bucks in these discount designs.

We won’t tell anyone it’s a “knock-off,” if you won’t.