Have a beautiful wedding without breaking the bank

>>> this morning on today's money, frugal wedding trends. brides and grooms spend an average of $27,000 on their wedding. now couples are looking for creative ways to save some cash on their big day . here with great ideas, today's financial editor jean chatzky and annika, site director for wedding.com. good morning to both of you. thank you for joining. jean, off the top, should you have a budget in mind?

>> absolutely. then when you fill the different categories, the dress to the flowers , if you spend over on one, you can cut back on another.

>> let's launch into ideas. the first thing a bride picks out is the wedding dress .

>> get engaged.

>> then the dress.

>> you know what, if you splurge, splurge on the dress, you're probably going to go for a dress over here like this one. that one, $3700. the one next to it is $999. really the difference when you're looking to save is about the fabric and embellishment.

>> let me get this straight, the dress on the very end is $3700 and the one exactly next to it.

>> $999, just under $1,000. the construction, the first 23 hours of labor, frab rick, crystals, the one next to it not crystals.

>> the $3300 dress for $950. that's another way people are going outside the box, saving some money because they are getting a preowned dress.

>> i remember when people used to rush to the basement. moving on from the dress, flowers can cost a small fortune.

>> the average bridesmaid just on their flowers alone.

>> these look similar but different in cost. the first is $350. the second is $125. the difference is in the flowers , the type of flowers . if you can be flexible, you're not stuck on peonies.

>> or costco, for the entire bridal party , including a bouquet, you don't have to do it yourself, $350.

>> bigger flowers , you need fewer of them to make the bouquet so you can save money there, too.

>> hiydrangeas.

>> invitations.

>> she customizes these, for 100, $2500. that's a big splurge. on the other end, minted.com, a website, go there. here it's less than half, it's 60% of the cost.

>> again, save even more and do paperless, do it on the internet, send a beautiful evite. a lot of people think that is so not done, but if you are a dress person or a flower person and you've got to save somewhere.

>> pick and choose.

>> grandma and grandpa, no, e-mail.

>> looking to save, brufl bake shop, these two here different in cost. the reason is because you have sugar flowers that someone had to hand make, fond ant, if you want to save, butter cream, same size, same look.

>> get it from the supermarket. this is a acme, big trend in supermarket wedding cakes . this is $300, red velvet wedding case. hopefully we'll taste it.

>> does it taste good?

>> taste it.

>> i don't want to say if it tastes bad.

>> these are great creative tips and you don't feel like you're compromising.

>> it really depends. if you have a bakery that's great, a set number of flavors. you're compromising there. you're right. if you're looking to save.

>> thank you so much. makes me want to get married.