Seen On CBS 5

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS 5) ― It's wedding season and brides-to-be are not letting the recession get in their way of having their dream wedding. According to costofwedding.com, on average couples are spending $35-$60,000 on a Bay Area wedding. We have tips to cut that cost in half.

Michelle Snyder is a marketing executive, so the bride-to-be used to dreaming big.

"Our goal was to have a nice wedding, do everything we wanted to do, pay money on things that were important to us, but try to stick within $30,000," said Snyder. But all the things she wanted would normally cost more than twice that amount. So in this recession, she rolled up her sleeves and searched for bargains which she found in unusual places.

For her centerpiece, she went on eBay and found glass vases for eight dollars each. She's filling them with lemons, rented from the caterer.

It's a lot less expensive than spending thousands on flowers at a few cents a pound.

"The produce guy was actually happy because he's going to sell the lemons. They're perfectly good to eat and cook with, and also make money from me for renting them for a couple hours during the day."

And Michelle had more sweet success from what could be a sour point of wedding planning - fancy invitations that run about $750 according to costofwedding.com. She spend $200 by ordering 100 invitations online through weddingpaperdivas.com.  Ordering custom invitations and favors online, sight-unseen is not for brides who need a lot of help. But if you know exactly what you want retailers like Walmart are offering personalized invitations for as little as $20 for a set of 50.  Discounters realize the wedding market is a big money-maker so at Costco you'll also find favors, flowers, and even cake.

Nationally recognized cake chef Cecil Gady said in this economy, brides are not shy about asking for a discount at Cakework.  With the cost of ingredients rising, bakers can't go too low. But, she does have a tip for brides on a budget. She recommends ordering a smaller main cake and supplementing it with a less expensive sheet cake to be hidden from guests who won't know the difference.

"The cake serves so many functions. It's a centerpiece. You know, people really gravitate toward the cake. The sheet cakes will be not decorated. They'll be the same flavor. They'll be frosted. They'll be delicious. But they're not going to be displayed with the big main cake," said Gady. Servers will hand out cake slices after the main cake is sliced and guests won't know about the sheet cake in the kitchen.

High end wedding cakes run about $10 a slice, but Gady's trick can slice about a third off the final pricetag. She said vendors should be willing to work with consumers in this economy. She'll even let some brides pick up their own cake to save on delivery, if there's no risk of a wedding day disaster.  

Michelle opted for fancy cupcakes at $3 each. Kara's Cupcakes is lending her tiers to display the cakes in the shape of a traditional wedding cake.   And if you think that's creative, for placecards she ordered re-usable luggage tags and had girlfriends help write guests' names inside of them.

For table markers, she displays photos of places around the world she and her fiance have visited. They are all items she purchased  with online coupons.  And with her wedding a couple weeks away this bride is not nervous, at least about money.

"We've actually done pretty well. We're actually a little below budget."

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