This is seriously easy and DELICIOUS! Tastes just like the bakery frosting they use on their sheet cakes. I would highly recommend using this recipe to make your own wedding cake and investing a little cash into some cake decorating tools. You don't need anything too fancy, but making your own cake will save you a lot of money.How to make delicious butter-cream frosting
This butter-cream frosting recipe is similar to a recipe I found on the back of a bag of sugar but after making several batches of this frosting, I have made some improvements. First of all you’ll absolutely need a mixer, this frosting is thick and creamy and tastes just like the stuff at the bakery instead of those small containers you can buy in the cake mix aisle. This stuff is very delicious and rich, perfect for decorating a wedding cake!
Ingredients:
(Makes enough frosting for one large sheet cake)
2 lbs. Powdered Sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup water (room temperature)
2 ½ teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup of butter (must be actual butter, no margarine, works best of butter is room temperature)
Food coloring (if necessary)
Put all ingredients into a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric beater or mixer (will be too thick for a spoon and won’t mix evenly). Beat until smooth and creamy, this can take awhile. If the frosting is too thick and stiff to stir properly, try adding a few drops of water. Just a few drops at a time though, this frosting will not hold up if it’s too thin.
Cover your bowl and use as soon as cake is ready. After the cake is frosted, keep cake in the refrigerator so the frosting will keep its design. Take out an hour before serving for frosting and cake to thaw completely. Remember to make another batch if you want to decorate with more than one color of frosting.
Want something besides white? Of course you can mix in some food coloring, but what about color swirls? For that, you'll need a color paste- regular food coloring liquid won't work- and line your frosting bag with stripes. Four long vertical stripes along the inside of the bag with your colors and boom, you look like the Cake Boss. Click on the pictures for more detail.
Enjoy!
Heather Henry Kraabel
http://500dollarwedding.blogspot.com
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Plan on wearing your hair down for your wedding? I wore my hair down instead of the traditional up-do and I got a lot of compliments on it, although really, what are people going to do? Tell me I look weird on my wedding day? Nevertheless, I think wearing your hair down can be just as pretty as wearing it up. The trick to saving the most amount of money possible is doing your hair yourself or letting a trusted friend take on the responsibility. Here's an interesting link I found for getting "Victoria's Secret" hair. 
No big surprise that the girl who wrote about how to have a wedding for $500 is a cheapskate, but I'm also practical. I don't mind spending money if it's something I need and I'm getting a valuable service or product for my money, however, I am also a big fan of prioritizing. My parents and my husband's parents were very generous and paid for all of the big stuff we needed at the wedding. I soon realized though that the little leftover detail stuff was going to add up fast and make me very very broke.
Valentine's Day is perfect for great clearance items because everything is cute or elegant and doesn't look too seasonal. Think vases, candles and candle holders, linen napkins and napkin holders, tablecloths, dishes, glasses, silk flowers, etc. Send out the troops! 
I was on a date one time and the conversation turned to past relationships (always a bad idea on a first date). The guy told me he broke up with his last girlfriend because she started bugging him about when they would get married. I sympathized with him and then asked how long had they dated. Eight years, he said. Eight years???!!!! Dude, I'd be worried if she HADN'T asked you about marriage.
a piece of poster board, which is about 50 cents at any store that sells school or office supplies. Have everyone sign the poster board, then purchase a frame and hang it in your house when you come back from your honeymoon! A poster frame will cost somewhere around $15 and you can purchase it at a later date rather than add it to your wedding budget.
So this might sound strange to you, but designing a wedding ceremony program was one of my favorite activities when I was planning my wedding. I absolutely loved it. The layout, who had what roles, the kind of paper I used, how it would be presented, picking out a quote, etc. I loved it. Truthfully, if you had a million dollars and seven wedding planners to help you prepare for your big day I'd still recommend doing this part yourself. It's just a great way to see exactly what's going on and when and with what members of the bridal party. Plus, you have to do one. Guests will feel SO MUCH better if they know exactly what kind of time they'll be spending sitting still and being quiet. A lot of people bring them home, they read it during the ceremony, they use it as a fan if the church is hot, they use it as a coloring book for bored children, it's perfect for blotting lipstick or discreetly gossiping about your second cousin's elective surgery. Just do it.
Here's some tips to get you started. 
First, pick out some nice paper but paper that can be printed on. Your best bet to keep down costs is to put your entire design on a regular piece of white printing paper and then take it to the copy shop and have them make the copies on some high-end paper. Stick to black, white, and gray ink if possible. You may not need the heavy duty stock paper, decide what design you're doing first. The content of the program should include the following:
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Another favor I have noticed is the flip flop. I absolutely LOVE this because I'm not a girl who is used to heels. In fact, I don't get dressed up much so when I'm invited to a wedding I go all the way: black dress, hoop earrings, high heels, cocktail purse, heck I even wash my hair. But by dinner time, I'm hurting. Mostly my feet are hurting. I'll never forget the first time I saw the baskets full of flip flops. Immediately the wedding reception jumped into my top five list. Picture it: Dinner is over, the band is setting up, people are getting out of their seats, walking towards the reception area and - what's this? - BASKETS FULL OF FLIP FLOPS. 
