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If you are planning a romantic Valentine’s Day wedding and want to save money, a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) wedding may be your most sensible option. Many people consider Valentine’s Day to be most the romantic day of the year, so why not pledge your undying love to your partner on Cupid’s day? While it may seem cliche, it truly is a magical day and many couples plan their special day for February 14th. If you are considering a Valentine’s Day DIY wedding, here are some tips that may save you money and give you some ideas you had not yet considered:

Book a romantic location early. This is a popular day to say “I do” so you must choose your venue and make your reservation to ensure you get your dream location. The more romantic the location the better. How about a country inn, romantic hotel, or quaint little church? You can choose a sentimental location such as the restaurant of your first date or the park where you shared your first kiss.

Send heart  invitations. Ok, this may seem corny, but, after all, you did choose to get married on Valentine’s Day, so you may as well go all out with the love theme.

Keep the decor in the traditional colors of Valentine’s Day, so if you despise the color red, then don’t have your wedding on Valentine’s Day. Place cards, napkins, candles, and all other wedding accessories should be shades of red and white and/or cream.

Maybe a red wedding dress is just a bit too much. If so, how about a bouquet of beautiful red roses or red flowers in your hair? You could choose a pretty shade of red for your bridal party–always keep in mind their taste and don’t choose a shade of red that will make them uncomfortable. The groom could certainly wear a red bow tie and cummerbund. A red tux may bring back memories of a prom in the 70’s or a scene from a disco movie. A simple black tuxedo with a red boutineer is classic and elegant.

There is nothing more romantic than Italian opera music. If you can’t afford to hire an opera singer, you can play romantic love songs throughout the night, or hire a band whose specialty is romantic ballads.

A white and red wedding cake will accentuate the Valentine’s Day theme. If you serve a sit-down dinner, think of romantic foods and chocolate-covered strawberries are a must.

Party favors may include heart-shaped boxes or some other momento of the occasion. Heart-shaped picture frames will also provide your guests a fond remembrance of your special day. They can put a picture of you and your spouse or a picture of themselves in the frame.

PaperDirect is your online source for DIY wedding invitations and accessories. Here are some DIY wedding program ideas that may spark a creative idea for your DIY Valentine’s Day wedding.

A bachelorette party is a really great way to celebrate your womanhood and the end of your single life before you settling down with the man of your dreams and the one you will hopefully be spending the rest of your life with. Having all your friends and family there to celebrate with you and getting a carefree and crazy are the top two requirements of a great bachelorette party. Along with those requirements, here are a few great bachelorette party ideas.

Create a wish list. Whether you’re the bride-to-be or the hostess for the bachelorette party, a bachelorette wish list is a great way to make sure that everyone is having a great time. The bachelorette writes down three to five things she’s always wished she could do as a single woman. Of course, keep it clean and don’t do anything that will get you in trouble with the husband-to-be! Maybe you’ve always wanted a trip to Vegas or to buy a certain item. This is the bride-to-be’s night so see if you can fulfill some of her wishes before she takes the plunge into marriage.

Create a scavenger hunt type of task list for the bride-to-be. For instance, give her a sweatshirt with men’s names on it. The goal is to find one man to match each name and get him to sign the shirt. Send her on a scavenger hunt at the venue where the party is held. Create a list of items she must find in the hotel or restaurant or wherever the party is held. Take photos of the event as this will create memories for years to come (and some laughs!).

A day at the spa instead of a nightclub or restaurant. Not only is this extremely relaxing, but it will give the ladies a chance to bond over manicures and massages.

Hold a progressive dinner party for the bachelorette party. This is a great opportunity to visit several homes in a single evening. A progressive dinner party involves everyone going from home to home to enjoy a different course at each home. Keep the number of guests manageable if you plan a progressive dinner bachelorette party. You can only eat so much and the travel can be a bit tedious of there are too many locations to which you must travel.

PaperDirect is your online source for just about everything you need to throw a great party including festive party invitations, response cards and banners.

Let’s face it–weddings can be expensive. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend on your wedding, you can still have a beautiful ceremony and reception that will be memorable for all of your guests. Do-it-yourself (DIY) weddings can be planned, organized and performed for much less money than you may think. You just have to do some research and find bargains. You have to know how to negotiate prices and accept help from people you know who can contribute to the wedding. Traditionally, the bride’s family pays for the wedding, but nowadays there are many couples who pay for their own wedding. If you are fortunate enough to have parents who can pay for your wedding, then count yourself lucky because you will be entering marital bliss without huge credit card debt and loans to pay off, which can make the first few years of any marriage stressful. The cons of having the bride or groom’s family pay is that sometimes they tend to want what they want and you may feel obligated to allow them to make decisions for you. If family members pay for your wedding, you can set ground rules so that your special day is just that–YOUR special day. When both families contribute to the cost of the wedding it’s important that you voice your desires and stand your ground when decisions start being made without your approval.

Many contemporary weddings are paid for by the couple getting married. While this may put a strain on your finances, it does give you complete control over all decisions regarding the ceremony and reception. The pros of paying for your own wedding is that if you want a wedding on the beach in bathing suits with a Beach Boys cover band playing all night, you can do that. If you want to have your wedding under water in scuba suits, you can do that, too. You are not obligated to please anyone but yourselves.

The only con to paying for your own wedding is the debt you may rack up, but if you shop around and take advantage of good deals, you can have a gorgeous wedding on a reasonable budget. Enlist friends and family to help. For instance, if you have a friend who is in a band or who plays a harp, ask if they will provide entertainment for your wedding (that could be their gift to you). If you aunt is a florist, ask her for her help, and if you have a seamstress in the family, you can save hundreds, if not thousands, by having your wedding attire handmade by someone you love.

There are other ways to save money on your do it yourself wedding. The day of week you choose can make a big difference in the cost of the ceremony. Vendors are going to charge higher prices for more popular days/nights like Saturday. If you choose an off-day, they would rather charge a lower fee than have the venue completely unused. some establishments loosen minimum guest requirements on off days. You’re also likely to get better service because you’ll have management’s undivided attention on a less busy day.

PaperDirect is your online source for everything you need for your do-it-yourself wedding including wedding invitations, wedding place cards and wedding thank you note cards.