Q. My partner and I have been together for seven years and we have a wonderful two-year-old. We have decided to get married but we don?t have a lot of money, do you have any suggestions on how to have a really nice wedding without spending too much?

A. There are many ways of having a budget wedding without it looking like a budget wedding. However as one bride's budget wedding may be another bride's extravaganza my suggestions are really quite general.

The most expensive part of any wedding is the reception. If you wish to cut costs then you should look at the type of reception you have planned. The less formal the reception then the easier it is to keep down the costs.

Obviously a smaller wedding is less expensive than a large wedding because there are less mouths to feed and what you save on quantity you can put towards quality. Also a buffet or cocktail food is less expensive than a formal sit down three or four course dinner. Daytime receptions are also less expensive than evening receptions because of wages costs. Also, keeping the reception less than four hours will mean you may save on room hire.

Depending on how much you want to save then the least expensive wedding reception is a morning reception. At a morning reception you can serve champagne and orange juice with a light meal of fresh croissants, chicken sandwiches and fruit. A morning reception is ideally held in a local park (some parks are free) or someone's garden with a marquee arranged just in case the weather is bad. It would probably not go for more than two or three hours.

Also, look at your alcohol list and serve only beer, wine and Australian sparkling wine, not spirits, ports etc as these are more expensive.

Other ideas to cut down on costs is:

• carry a single stemmed rose instead of a bunch
• keep all decorations to a minimum
• have only one attendant each and if you give gifts to your attendants gifts then keep them inexpensive but meaningful
• keep your bridal dress, shoes and accessories as simple as possible
• get a friend to do your hair and makeup
• don't feel obliged to give guests expensive items of bomboniere
• shop around for a photographer, different packages will include different inclusions so make sure you are getting good value for money.