Planning a wedding can be fraught and the cost of the big day can send even the most level-headed couples over the edge.

But don’t despair, the wedding industry is diversifying and today (almost) anything goes. Most people give themselves around 12-18 months to get everything ready and there are plenty of ways to save money.

For example, did you know that some months of the year are better for buying your wedding essentials than others?

February

Honeymoon – Travel, flights and hotels are still relatively cheap in the beginning of February, making it a good time to secure an early bird bargain before prices go up in March. Read our guide to getting a great holiday on a budget…

May

Jewellery – In truth, you can probably get a good deal on jewellery any time of the year that isn’t close to a holiday period. But according to MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, you should avoid November and December due to Christmas and January and February because of Valentine’s Day. Then there’s Mother’s Day in March.

August

Late Summer Travel – Late summer travel deals emerge in August, meaning great prices on end of season holidays, flights and connections. So if you’re happy to leave booking your honeymoon until the last minute, it might pay off financially.

December

Wedding Dresses – Buying out of season is the way to go with big purchases like wedding dresses. Many brides are busy planning summer weddings and tend to leave buying the dress until spring, meaning December is a great month to negotiate a deal on that dream dress. Sales are slow until spring, so now is the time to snap up that dress you spied in summer.

Champagne – It would be easy to think that the Christmas and New Year demand for bubbly would see prices inflate. However, the festive period actually see’s the price of fizz reduce considerably as Champagne houses all compete to sell more units. This means that supermarkets and stores are able to offer consumers reduced prices on their favourite celebratory tipple.

Other top money savings tip…

• DIY – the smaller aspects of a wedding can be surprisingly expensive, such as invitations and favours. A good solution to save on costs is to pull up your sleeves and get stuck in with some arts and crafts. Also, do you really need to send a save-the-date by post? Postage is surprisingly expensive and slow, so just send an email around asking people to keep the day free, and then send them the official invites by post (make sure to pay the right postage.)

• Don’t buy wedding magazines – most of the wedding magazines also publish online so there’s no excuse for forking out £5-£6 pounds at a time for them.

• Use your nearest and dearest – the cousin who tortured you by taking endless photographs of you during your spotty teenage days might just be the best person to take your wedding photographs. Tap into the skills of people around you, you’ll save money and make the whole day that little bit more personal.

• Haggle – where weddings are concerned, there is always room for haggling. It’s not a money saving tactic solely reserved for market stalls and you’d be surprised how much money you can knock off the price of venues, dresses and even the rings.

Always do a little research before you start haggling, and remember that there’s no harm in asking!

• Don’t mention the wedding – Unless you are booking a venue or buying a dress, don’t mention ‘wedding’. Retailers and service providers generally bump up the prices when they know, so try and keep ‘wedding’ out of the conversation for as long as possible!

• Sign up to cancellation lists -another’s bad luck or change of plan can be your money saving saviour. Sign up to cancellation lists, and request a certain date. You’ll get huge discounts if you’re able to fill those dates, because venues don’t want to lose out.

• Forget Saturdays – if you’re able to, get married on any day of the week that isn’t Saturday. You’ll pay so much more for a Saturday wedding, so why not opt for a Friday or Sunday instead?

Just make sure you give guests plenty of warning so they can book the time off work and make the necessary arrangements.

• Hire a wedding planner – while this may seem like an unnecessary cost, wedding planners can actually end up saving you a lot of money, purely due to the contacts they have in the industry and their knowledge of wedding costs and where to go for the best deals.

• All under one roof – if you can, have your wedding ceremony and reception at the same venue, because you’ll cut down on transport costs, hire fees and any other costs associated with two different venues.

• Bridesmaids – dresses for the bridesmaids can be very expensive, but a cheap way round this could be to suggest a theme, like ‘vintage nudes’ or ‘autumn berries’ and ask your bridesmaids to choose and pay for a dress that they’ll want to wear again.

Use accessories, such as pearls and corsages, to pull the look together and get them to do their own hair and make-up.

• Rent, don’t buy – instead of paying hundreds for a suit or dress you’ll never wear again, consider renting instead. It’ll make a difference to your budget!

• If you must have your own dress – it’s worth considering the increasing number of quality high street stores like Monsoon, Coast and Phase Eight, all of which have their own wedding dress ranges offering the latest wedding fashion for a fraction of designer dresses.

There’s no reason you can’t have a high street dress altered to fit like a dream or tweaked to make it unique save hundreds of pounds along the way.

• Sites like Etsy and Folksy, which focus on handmade and bespoke items, are great if you’re looking for something affordable to make your big day a little bit special and you should keep an eye on eBay for people selling their table settings and decorations after their special day. You can pick up everything you need, often for around a third of the retail price.

• Be your own caterer – rope in as many friends and family members as you can to help out. Remember that if the wedding is a small family gathering, it’s easy enough, (WITH A LITTLE PLANNING) to cater for.

• The toast – is it champagne or prosecco? Who can tell? Sparkling wine is sparkling wine, and few can tell the difference!

• Honeymoon – two weeks in the Caribbean might sound like a dream come true, but might lose its appeal when you check-in with a hundreds of other honeymooners.

Try something different like a working holiday, or get friends and family to sponsor a trip, like a trek up the Great China Wall. Also, remember that when you get to your destination, it’s perfectly okay to ask if you can have an upgrade or two as it’s your honeymoon.

Most places will try their best to accommodate you, especially if you honeymoon in less traditional destinations or during off-peak season.

• Runaway – If it gets too much, remember that there’s always Gretna Green! It’s a name synonymous with tales of runaway couples and passionate encounters, and in today’s world of high prices, might just save you a tidy penny.

Think of it like this – it still has an element of ‘tradition’ about it, the village is rather beautiful, and you can get hitched on around £500.