Welcome to part three of our Wedding on a Budget series. Last week we talked about the decision to hire a wedding planner. This week we’ll talk about picking a location for your event and saving money on the invitations.

Picking a location for your commitment ceremony or wedding can be a lot of fun. The key to finding the right venue is to pick a location that has personal meaning for you and your partner. It could be your favorite diner, the church you attend, or a public park or garden you went to on your first date.

Bronwyn Grant, a social worker from Orange County, California, says that she and her wife Toni got married in their friend’s backyard, which allowed them to stick to a $2500 budget.

“We paid for everything ourselves. My gracious friend Sylvia will never know the gift she gave me by allowing the celebration of our union in her backyard. The backyard had enough space for the wedding party we were planning, approximately 40 people for the reception, and it was free. How can you beat that? It was convenient for food preparation, maintenance and cleanup because the kitchen was just off the backyard. It also allowed us to set up the decorations a day early. The extra expense of having chairs and tables delivered a day early was worth it because we weren’t running around on the day of the wedding.”

For our commitment ceremony, my partner and I picked a spot on the beach that held a lot of spiritual meaning for us. For the reception, we decided to have a garden party in our backyard. Both places were free. The only thing we needed to worry about was the weather. But a quick check of the Farmer’s Almanac quickly resolved that question.

Once you’ve picked a location for your special day, you’re ready to send out the invitations. You could go through a professional printer, but the cost of having someone else print up your announcements can be really expensive. Bronwyn took a DIY approach:

I did as much as possible by myself. For example, for our announcement picture we went to the beach early one morning with a friend and a camera. We took about 100 amazing photos. For the announcements, went to the craft store and bought an announcement software kit with paper for about $10.00. I did the formatting, printing, and personal touches myself. The biggest cost was the stamps to mail them.

Another approach is to shop around online for greeting card companies that allow you to upload your own photos and create a personalized design. After a price comparison of five different vendors, my partner and I decided to go with Snapfish because they had the best rates: 45 ¢ a card (including the envelopes). Another resource is Snapblog, which allows you to create custom scrapbooks as well as greeting cards. Shannon and I were strategic and sent our announcements out at the beginning of December so they could double as our seasonal greeting cards. You can’t really avoid the cost of postage (it is what it is), but we could at least get more bang for our buck by trying to achieve two purposes at once.

I hope you and your partner enjoy the process of picking a location and designing your announcements together. During your brainstorming phase, go hog wild with your list of potential locations. Don’t limit your imagination in the beginning of the process. You can always eliminate venues after you’ve started looking at the prices. Allow yourself to think outside the box, and don’t be afraid of asking a friend or family member for the use of their backyard if yours is too small.

Next week we’ll be looking at ways to save on decorations and food for your reception. The week after that I’ll be sharing tips to help you save on the outfits you’ll be wearing.

What about you? Where did you hold your commitment ceremony? Do you have a tip for our readers about how to save money on announcements? Be sure to tell us your wedding story in the comments section.