You Can Go Your Own Way

Jewish weddings are expensive. Well, all weddings are expensive, but Jewish weddings? Ridiculously expensive. Why? Well, Kosher food, for one. The fact that Jews can't throw a party without any sort of alcohol is another. A place big enough to hold our enormous families, the little details you need like a Chuppah, a Ketubah, a dress that you usually can't just buy off the rack for modesty reasons, et cetera, et cetera.

But what if it wasn't? What if you still managed a beautiful wedding, with a little more DIY to it? What if you took care of so many things on your own that you actually managed to tame the wild financial beast? And how would you do that? Below, some options:

1. Take incredible amounts of advantage of your artistic friends and family. They can draw monograms, design a ketubah, draw up programs, and maybe even make a chuppah. (Although you can also DIY a chuppah with either some tent poles or some tall friends and a plain tallit.)

2. Embrace the great outdoors: Tents are expensive, but a huge tent in a beautiful, large backyard will outprice a catering hall or beach club any day.

3. Hire a family friend to do the photography. Note that this is only a good option if A) your friend is a professional or B) you don't care about getting a real album. A friend or two who's good with a camera and allowed unequaled access can take some fantastic pictures, plus with everyone else and their digital cameras swarming about, you're guaranteed some other good shots anyway.

4. Have a friend or family member do your makeup. Got someone with particular skills and a nice arsenal of cosmetics? Then save yourself some money and let them go at it! Just make sure they know how to make your skin camera-friendly--a little lipstick and some mascara is not enough for this affair.

5. Use e-vites where possible. They're free, they allow for responses, and you can tell when someone hasn't received it. Bear in mind that not all adults are as technologically savvy as their Gen-X and Y children, but you can cut the number of invitations in half if you send e-vites to your friends, and get store-bought or friend-designed invitations for the rest.

6. Make the most of your PC skills. You can use the computer to make programs, print out the sheva brachot, and even print out benching instead of buying benchers.

7. Do your own hair if and only if you are going for a simple style. Don't do your own updos--you'll be sorry when it falls two minutes into dancing.