For a rustic-style table, look at mixing bright and fresh-picked blooms. A mixed arrangement can also save money. Kathleen Hyppolite, owner of Kat Flower, suggests mixing expensive flowers with less expensive ones. "If you love peonies but can't afford heaps of them, use them sparingly. Bring in affordable flowers like roses, carnations and lisianthus. The peonies will still shine and elevate the other flowers."

For a wedding with a faraway feel, stick with bold colors. Dominant shades of pink can remind you of tropical beaches, while deep red can whisk you away to the Far East. Using a single type of flower to create arrangements can also cut down costs. "Stay with one or two types of flowers and let them carry through the entire wedding," says Janie. "A floral designer is sometimes able to get a better price if they are ordering boxes of a single type of flower. Plus, one or two flowers can make an impact, especially if they are in a bold or complementary color combination."

When working with a specific cultural aesthetic, identify a floral designer who can help you create the perfect look. "Before meeting with a floral designer, do your research. Does the designer's style work with the look of your wedding concept? What elements do you need designed? Once you determine your needs, a floral designer will help create areas of focus and impact that will demonstrate your concept and work within your budget," says Kathleen Hyppolite, owner of Kat Flower.

Think small and loose-style arrangements for a rustic, organic feel. "When choosing your design, don't go for extremely tight, compacted styles that use tons of flowers. Pick lower arrangements that feature lush greeneries, like seeded eucalyptus, bear grass and plumose. The greens will help stretch out the size of the arrangement," says Janie Medley, owner of Janie Medley Flora Design.

This charming spring bouquet is tied with a swath of lace and an antique pin. For the DIY bride, "Purchase flowers from the local farmers' market. I would suggest you plan your wedding around the time when flowers are in abundance (like the spring season)," suggests Janie.

Antique silver, Mason jars and even tin cans can be upcycled into vases. "Provide your florist with containers. You can save money if you find a comparable container yourself, but be sure to take measurements. A container with a larger opening will call for more flowers," according to Janie Medley.

A blushing white bouquet will look elegant at a wintry white wedding. If you are getting married during the winter holidays, look for flowers that are in season. "Regardless of the season, brides looking to save money should always opt for seasonal flowers. Though this does not guarantee rock-bottom prices, it always helps when flowers are readily available and abundant," advises Kathleen.

A holiday wedding may call for an arrangement of red and green flowers to accessorize cocktail and reception tables. When planning a wedding around Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day and New Year's, be sure to include extra room in your budget. Janie says: "The quality of flowers at these times is not as high, as the flowers are forced to bloom. Flower growers charge more for flowers around major holidays due to supply and demand."

Soft flowers like roses and ranunculus are a wonderful way to celebrate romance. If you need to be budget-conscious, repurpose flowers that were used during the ceremony. Janie suggests you "repurpose flowers from an arch or gazebo to work elsewhere when the ceremony is finished. Lay the bouquets of your bridal party around the cake table, or use the flowers from the aisle for the sweetheart and cocktail tables."

A romantic flower arrangement can also be accentuated with unconventional elements. Here, light and airy feathers complete an ethereal bride's bouquet. For eye-catching bouquets, centerpieces and all your floral needs, Kathleen gives a final word of advice: "Choose vendors that you like and trust. And trust in them to realize your vision so that you can enjoy your beautiful day." See 27 Floral Alternatives >>

When the reception is over, send guests on their way with your favorite coffee beans. Bonus? These darling free downloads from Something Turquoise really up the cute factor.

Great for centerpieces and favors alike, potted succulents are a wedding trend that is only getting more popular with time. Don't forget to personalize them like Chelsea Costa of Lovely Indeed did here by painting the pots with your wedding colors!

For a rustic wedding, store your seed packets in an old wheelbarrow with a cute sign as seen here.

Each one of these sweet and elegant little boxes is filled with homemade cookies in the same flavor as the wedding cake. Visit Etsy for original box kits like this that can be put together by you and your wedding party.

These delightful DIY sewing kits are so simple to make, and they are great to keep in a purse or car for fashion emergencies. Learn how to make them at Something Turquoise.

Send guests home with a sweet and nostalgic treat when you string a clothesline with bags of delicious cotton candy. Photo courtesy of Tim Robison Creative

Show guests that you know how to think outside of the box by sending them home with a hot and spicy treat. Download the labels from Something Turquoise.

Add taste to your special day by putting an edible image on a sweet treat. Use your save-the-date or engagement photo to make the personalized pops. Lollipics come in 19 different colors and patterns in 11 different yummy flavors.

Give a gift that keeps on giving when you supply guests with a way to plant their very own Scotch pine tree. Make your own kit, or buy it premade from MorganTheCreator on Etsy.

Let guests take home a taste of your signature wedding drink by filling cute jars with dried rosebuds and a recipe for a Rose and Mint Champagne Cocktail. Get the recipe here.

Decadent and delicious, bite-size Tiffany-blue macarons are the perfect sweet treat to give guests for the drive home. Get the recipe here.

If you love the idea of giving out coffee beans as favors, but you just don't have the time to do it yourself, you can even buy the beans already roasted and in custom-stamped packaging from AproprosRoasters.

For an outdoor wedding, how about a lighthearted pinwheel to catch the breeze? Make pinwheels to match the wedding's color palette, and include the name of the couple and the date of the wedding. Blank paper pinwheels can be purchased from Paper Source, along with ribbon, paint, stamps and more.

Great for a summer wedding, fresh fruit is a healthy treat everyone can enjoy. For an extra-special touch, package seasonal goodies in cute color-coordinated boxes, like these ladybug boxes from PartyPail.com.

Even easier to care for than succulents, air plants make a great wedding favor (and place holder) even for those without a green thumb. You can find these rustic beauties on thisfineday's Etsy shop.

If you love the idea of air plants but prefer a more nautical look, place your plant in a sea urchin shell for an instant ocean effect. Or, simply buy them from peacocktaco on Etsy.

For a favor your guests will be anxious to use, make your own mocha latte mix in super cute test tubes. Find instructions and download the free label from Something Turquoise.

Create your own custom seed packets out of old magazines, cards or other paper. Simply fill with seeds from your (or a friend's) garden for an inexpensive favor inspired by nature. Learn to make the packets here.

Personalize the favor boxes by using a thin strip of grosgrain ribbon in your wedding colors. A sticker with your initials can be a nice finishing touch.

Place favor boxes by the dessert bar and have guests fill them with treats. Customize the bar with the wedding color palette or the color of the season. For a December wedding, use white candy and striped peppermints. The fun is finding the perfect desserts to match your color palette.

These monogram bags are made simply using paper bags, chalkboard tags and raffia. Place some sweet treats inside so guests can have something to enjoy after the wedding.

A charming place holder that doubles as a sweet party favor, this DIY terrarium place holder via Green Wedding Shoes is the perfect, easy craft that is sure to impress your guests.

A CD with a custom label that includes the bride and groom’s initials is a wonderful favor. Include songs from the wedding reception as a reminder of the special day.

Walnut-Rosemary Olive Bread: yum. Invite guests to break the bread with you and your new spouse with these sweet and savory loaves. Get the recipe here.

For a destination wedding, look for favors that do double-duty. A Caribbean wedding uses cast-iron airplanes as place cards and favors for guests. Baker's twine is simply attached to a piece of card stock and then tied to the plane.

Cheaper and safer (no mystery chemicals!) than store-bought lip balm, homemade beeswax lip balm is a great wedding favor for men and women alike, especially during fall and winter weddings. Learn how to make your own lip balm here.

Send guests home with a little sparkle. Glitter-dipped cooking spoons are a useful, glam favor that will remind guests of all the fun they had at your wedding every time they cook! Get the full tutorial from Something Turquoise.

Place cards are inserted into Ferrero Rocher candies for a tasty display. To create your own candy seating card, use stirrer sticks and affix labels with the name and table number on them. Then simply push the stick through the center of the candy.

Give the bride and groom a sweet send-off with mini party bubbles. To tie the bubbles in with theme of the wedding, place them in small favor bags. Find the bubbles at Oriental Trading Company.

Do you love to garden? Try pickling your produce to give guests a charming country treat and to make sure none of your bountiful veggies go to waste.

Great as a vase and perfect to send home with family and friends, personalized Mason jars are just the thing for a rustic country wedding. Make your own or buy a set from David's Bridal.

Give guests a sweet treat that will make it past the car and into some of their favorite dishes with a cute set of infused spices. 

Wearing my mom's wedding dress made my most-special day that much more personal and beautiful and honestly, it was so much easier than I expected to make it my own. All you need is a bit of optimism — and a few thousand dollars.

My parents (Neil and Helen) were married on May 17, 1975 — almost 39 years ago. After I got engaged in October I came home to Philadelphia, and my mom and I dug out the box with the dress inside. When we pulled it out for examination, it was a wrinkly yellow mess with purply-brown wine stains on one of the sleeves and torso.

Luckily my best friend Jess works in fashion and is intimately familiar with the proper care and cleaning of couture. She recommended I take the dress to Madame Paulette, "the only people we trust at work with our gowns." I immediately called and made an appointment. There, the woman told me that it would go through a month-long cleaning and whitening process. She couldn't promise me anything except that "it will definitely be whiter than it is now." She also told me that since the fabric is a strong one, it would most likely hold up well during the process. There was hope! Still, I was a bit nervous that it would only become ivory when I wanted white. If I hated it, I'd be out $750 and I wouldn't have much time — only three months — to find a wedding dress. (Did I mention we were planning a wedding in four months?)

When I returned in December, I was ecstatic: The dress was sparkling white and the wine residue was gone. If Madame Paulette isn’t viable for you, I’d look for a cleaner that specializes in couture and/or wedding gowns. This is important so they understand the proper care for the fabric. I was lucky that my mom's dress was thick and sturdy; other delicate lace dresses don't hold up as well.

But our work wasn't done yet; the dress still needed to be altered. Enter Jess, once again, who recommended I take it to Lars Nord, a tailor to the stars. His work isn’t cheap -- we wound up paying him over $3,000 — but damn if it isn't the best. He told me we could do whatever I wanted to make it my own — but suggested slicing off the arms and adding tiny lace cap sleeves to make it more modern. He pulled in the bodice to make it slimmer all the way down and added a small train in the back for more drama.

There are tailors who will do it for less, but I didn't have the luxury of time to shop around... plus I knew Lars would do the best job. Again, make sure you are clear about your wants and expectations for the dress and that this tailor has altered wedding gowns before.

Mine turned out even better than I ever could have imagined; it transformed from 1975 beauty to 2014 perfection.

Jamie Shupak Stelter and Brian Stelter know TV: She's the traffic reporter for NY1 in New York City and he's CNN's senior media correspondent. Now the two are bringing their talent to ulive with two original series: TV Dinner with Friends and TV Weddings .

Virginia, Managing Editor for Special Projects, and her husband Chris were married at a charming bed and breakfast in the Highlands of North Carolina. Maddie the dog just came along for the ride.

An evergreen backdrop sets the stage for the happily-ever-after. The bride and groom recited their vows under an archway lined with pretty white hydrangeas.

The late summer affair was held outdoors. A garden wedding can be a gamble, especially in the summer. Fortunately, Virginia and Chris didn’t have to resort to a plan B, the rain held off.

Virginia’s bouquet was comprised of baby blue hydrangeas, soft pink roses and baby’s breath. A navy satin ribbon was a nod to the traditional “something blue”.

After the ceremony, guests made their way up to the main house for cocktails and hor d’oeuvres. A simple and refreshing spiked Arnold Palmer made of sweet tea vodka and lemonade was served. There’s something about a signature cocktail that adds a festive flair to any event.

The juxtaposition of the formal script on a burlap surface helps create the rustic-chic look.

A menu card was tucked inside the elegant table setting.

Liz, our Production Coordinator, and her golf-loving husband Bobby said their vows over looking the 18th hole on a picture-perfect June afternoon. Liz’s mom made the elegant aisle runner with a bolt of satin fabric and 3-foot-tall sticky decals.

Liz is an ardent fan of University of Tennessee’s football team (Yay, go Vols!). So much so, she paired the team’s color, bright orange with a pretty pink fuchsia.

The vibrant wedding colors add a big pop of personality to the country club’s Tudor-style setting.

Silver water pitchers and vintage teapots were used to hold bright bouquets of summer hues.

The golf theme was carried throughout the wedding. The drink cozy favors reiterate the couple’s promise of eternity by stating “no mulligans” (if you don’t speak golf, that means no do-overs). Liz and Bobby also tweaked their wedding vows a bit and replaced “for better or for worse” with “through birdies and bogeys”.

For additional decor, the bride’s aunt covered big books in the wedding colors and then used her excellent penmanship to personalize the book spines.

Liz and Bobby didn’t forget a single detail, they even made sure the bathrooms were properly adorned with their wedding colors.

For farm-girl Karli, our Corporate Marketing Manager, sparkling wedding bands looked even more radiant on top of a rusted tent pole.

Karli's bouquet combined succulents, calla lilies, peacock feathers and ranunculus with a beautifully-wrapped grapevine. All flowers were grown locally on a farm in Corryton, Tenn.

The mothers of the bride and groom wore stunning corsages made of deep purple calla lilies and colorful peacock feathers, a nod to the bride's lovely bouquet.

Fresh greenery lined the tables and added to the natural, outdoorsy feel of the farm wedding. Each centerpiece was composed of vines, twigs and ivy all found on the florist's personal farm.

A couple of love birds donning a veil and top hat adorn the three-tiered amaretto wedding cake.

Upon their grand exit, the bride and groom walked down a shimmering path as guests lined the sides waving sparklers and wishing them farewell.

Marianne, our Productions Coordinator, and her southern gent Aaron were married at Castleton Farms in Loudon, Tenn. Aaron's unique groom's cake featured a bronzed cowboy boot that once belonged to his grandfather.

Marianne's wedding gown was already stunning, but she had a few alterations made to make it truly one of a kind. Her dramatic cathedral-length veil was made of Italian lace and completed the look beautifully.

A beloved bride, Marianne was surrounded by friends on her big day. The 12 bridesmaids looked gorgeous in periwinkle gowns, carrying bouquets of white hydrangeas and peonies.

Because she wanted a classy southern vibe, Marianne chose to skip the popular tulle flower girl dresses and instead opted for classic white smock dresses. The flower girls carried simple moss baskets made by the florist, Brian Davis.

As Brian is the featured wedding florist for Blackberry Farms, it is no surprise that his work is simply stunning, particularly this jaw-dropping table runner made of hundreds of hydrangeas. "I showed him a picture but didn't think he would really make it," says Marianne. "I was in tears when I saw it. It couldn't have been better."

To feed their almost 400 guests, Marianne and Aaron had a seven-tiered wedding cake covered in hydrangeas and peonies. It was so large that a stand had to be made, because they couldn't find one big enough. The delicious cake had layers of almond, lemon and almond with a raspberry glaze.

Since their wedding had an open bar, Marianne and Aaron wanted to make sure guests had something to eat before driving home. The caterer asked if they would rather have mini gourmet burgers, but the couple opted for Krystals on a silver platter. They were passed out on the dance floor, and Marianne and Aaron even took a sackful for the road!

Kelly, our Programming Manager, and her husband, Derek, were married at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve in Birmingham, Alabama. Friends, family and easy DIY projects made their budget-friendly wedding and reception possible.

Kelly and Derek adapted an outdoor classroom area at the nature preserve to become their ceremony site. Simple touches made it prettier and more comfortable, and friends chipped in to decorate all day before the afternoon ceremony. For example, friend and Made + Remade blogger Michelle Reynolds framed the ceremony focal point with grapevine and native plants.

Here, a friend (Elizabeth Brooke) covers the rustic wooden benches with fabric to make them more comfortable and to indicate that they’re reserved for parents and grandparents.

Kelly and Derek held their reception in an open pavilion at Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. Basic folding tables were dressed up with inexpensive canvas dropcloth (available at big-box home and garden stores) and handmade burlap table runners. Kelly also made a pennant banner to denote the bride-and-groom table.

Kelly’s own collection of blue and clear Mason jars served as centerpieces filled with tulips ordered through the local Whole Foods floral counter, which proved to be a budget-friendly way to source fresh flowers.

For wedding favors, Kelly and Derek asked friends who run the local Maple Valley Nursery to grow out heirloom tomato plants. For the summer months, after their late April wedding, friends sent reports about and pictures of their tomato plants and harvests.

The groom’s older sister, an avid baker, made cakes for both the bride and groom. For Kelly’s cake, she experimented with gluten-free recipes until she got one that was just perfect.

The centerpiece of the wedding decor was a quilt that many friends and family members contributed to and a close friend coordinated. Each quilt square represents a special memory or message. The group, many of them first-time quilters, presented the keepsake to Kelly the morning of the wedding. Throughout the reception, guests lingered around the wedding quilt to share stories about the couple.

This is Watson — in the three-piece blue denim suit — he's our Programming Manager. He and his beautiful wife Kelly said their vows not back in the 70s, but just a few years ago at the Wee Kirk o’ the Heather Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The ceremony was presided over by a divine holy man dressed in a white, bedazzled jumpsuit and sacred Hawaiian neckwear.

If you’re planning a throwback wedding, don’t ignore tradition. Watson adhered to the longstanding custom of wearing “something old (the Disco shirt); something new (the boutonniere is fresh); something borrowed (Elvis called, he wants his platforms back); and something blue."

Getting married can be stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. Watson and Kelly announced simply "We're getting married in Vegas," and extended an open invitation knowing any excuse is a good excuse to fly to Las Vegas. What better way to celebrate than to get wild and crazy with your friends and family?