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"Ariel Brewster, 29, and her Canadian fianc&amp;amp;eacute;, Patrick White, 31, knew what they&amp;amp;#8217;d signed up for when they decided to get married and buy a house at the same time: a budget that was not roomy. Not roomy at all. Note: To see photos of Ariel and Patrick&amp;#x27;s gorgeous, budget-friendly wedding, download the November issue of Brides. Cut to nine months later, in June, when the couple wed at a quaint 1920s summer camp in Ariel&amp;amp;#8217;s native New Hampshire, to the tune of $17,000. To manage costs, they shrank their guest list down to 108 (no old babysitters; none of Mom&amp;amp;#8217;s colleagues from the &amp;amp;#8217;80s), accepted freebies (friends did her hair and make-up), DIY-ed like crazy, and registered for honeymoon cash via honeyfund.com. And two months after saying &amp;amp;#8220;I do,&amp;amp;#8221; the pair closed on their first house. Here&amp;amp;#8217;s how they pulled it off. Floral Arrangements, $679 &amp;amp;#8220;I put grocery-bought ranunculus and peonies into birch-wrapped vases and thirty-six little teeny spice jars,&amp;amp;#8221; says Ariel. We suggest using nhwoodscreations.etsy.com, mountainroseherbs.com Invitations &amp;amp; guest book, $330 &amp;amp;#8220;I got wood-grainy Japanese paper, mini clothespins, kraft-paper envelopes, gingham tape, and stamps and made them myself. I had crafts nights with friends&amp;amp;#8212;drinking beer, tying twine&amp;amp;#8212;and printed them at Kinko&amp;amp;#8217;s.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: thepaperplace.ca, stampoutonline.etsy.com Venue &amp;amp; Accommodations, $6,500 &amp;amp;#8220;There was no venue fee, which meant we could rent all 20 cabins for two nights and invite our guests to stay there&amp;amp;#8212;on us.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: lochlymelodge.com Favors, $50 &amp;amp;#8220;At local dollar stores we found lawn games, water guns, stickers, and funny glasses for the kids. And my aunt surprised us with homemade jams in Mason jars. She owns Little Farm on the Berries, in Maine.&amp;amp;#8221; Gift-Table Pennant, $10 &amp;amp;#8220;I made it using colored paper and twine&amp;amp;#8212;I cut the pieces during a long weekend drive and glued it together at my parents&amp;amp;#8217; house.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: michaels.com Tents, $425 &amp;amp;#8220;We rented two from a church and set one on the ground&amp;amp;#8217;s basketball court to avoid renting a dance floor.&amp;amp;#8221; Music, $700 &amp;amp;#8220;We hired a bluegrass band&amp;amp;#8212;led by one of my old high school teachers&amp;amp;#8212;to play for two hours during cocktails and dinner. Afterward, we plugged in my laptop and piped in our own playlists. Dad handled the sound-system setup.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: The Old Fogey Mountain Boys (forddaley@valley.net) Lighting, $106 &amp;amp;#8220;Twinkly lights from home, two strings of Chinese lanterns, and two strings of Edison-bulb patio lights.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: paperlanternstore.com, homedepot.com Film, $55 &amp;amp;#8220;Friends snapped pics with our Polaroid 300 Instax and hung them up on a clothesline.&amp;amp;#8221; Photography, $1,500 &amp;amp;#8220;She&amp;amp;#8217;s not a wedding photographer&amp;amp;#8212;she&amp;amp;#8217;s a freelance photo editor who is also the campaign photographer for the local parties in Toronto. But we&amp;amp;#8217;re colleagues, so she did us a huge favor! She worked five hours and gave me the digital files so I could put together an album myself.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: jennawakani.com Linens, $350 &amp;amp;#8220;I ordered red gingham napkins and, with the help of two seamstress friends, made tablecloths out of burlap and table runners from lace.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: buymydrap.com, designerfabrics.ca Wooden Plates &amp;amp; Cutlery, $154 &amp;amp;#8220;I bought heart-shaped wooden plates and cute bamboo cutlery to appease my sister, who&amp;amp;#8217;s a bit of a hippie and was concerned about using too much plastic.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: marxfoods.com, ecowareproducts.com Catering, $5,900 &amp;amp;#8220;We had a full open bar and a barbecue buffet of brisket, ribs, corn on the cob, mac-and-cheese, and jalape?\uFFFDo cornbread. Instead of wedding cake, we served strawberry shortcake and apple pie.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: bloodscatering.com Goodie Bags, $355 &amp;amp;#8220;Every cabin got a welcome basket filled with playing cards, bug spray, flashlights, country snacks, beer, and maps of the area.&amp;amp;#8221; Signage, $75 &amp;amp;#8220;I wrote each sign out with chalkboard marker. The rain didn&amp;amp;#8217;t mess them up.&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: save-on-crafts.com Wedding Site, $0 &amp;amp;#8220;We hate wedding websites, but guests were flying in from all over, and we needed somewhere to post logistics. So on New Year&amp;amp;#8217;s Day, we put one together while supremely hung over!&amp;amp;#8221; We suggest using: weddingwire.com --Written by Brides How will you be saving up on your big day? Do you do anything on this list? More from Brides: *Sexy Summer Wedding Dresses *Celebrity Engagement Rings and Wedding Bands *25 Wedding Hairstyles Inspired by Our Favorite Celebrities *America&amp;#x27;s Most Beautiful Cakes *11Things to Avoid Before Your Wedding Photo: Thinkstock"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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