“I think I had a real change of attitude about budgets and shopping for bargains after I went shopping with my favorite aunt the other day,” a friend named Bridget said recently. “She has the money to buy what she wants, but I noticed that she went for the sale racks and bargain-shopped instead of paying full price.

‘It's the thrill of the hunt,’ she told me. ‘If I find something I want at a bargain price, I've won, I've beaten the system.’ I like that attitude. If I find ways to pay for something under my budgeted figure, I can then have that extra money for something really special that I want, or just bank the money and come out ahead for the honeymoon.”

Become a Bargain Hunter

One woman who has some stunning art in her home shops at art festivals on Sunday afternoons, when the artists don't want to pack up their work and take it home. A flea-market bargain shopper using the same philosophy has bagged many items for less than their asking price.

How can this help you with wedding purchases? Since couples are encouraged to plan their weddings a year or more ahead, figure out what season will apply to your wedding purchases, then wait for the end-of-season sale.

The big bridal stores run sales several times a year; check them out, but be sure it's a true sale and tags haven't been marked up in order to be marked down.

Look through racks of discontinued or last season's dresses. Remember that just because a manufacturer has decided to go in a different direction doesn't mean that last season's designs are now unfashionable.

Years ago, after wedding dresses with huge, puffy sleeves were discontinued, there were plenty of brides delighted to look through the previous year's designs on the bargain rack.