Suffering from catering sticker shock? You betcha! You will allocate about 50% of your entire wedding budget to wining and dining your guests. If youre already dreading the look on their faces when offered bread and water, browse through these favorite money saving tips. Budget-savvy brides can get creative and wow their guests with a mouthwatering and memorable meal that wont maximize their catering budget.

Eliminate Courses -
Break from the five course mold its tedious and expensive. Why not serve a 3 course meal thats extraordinary? Eliminating a soup, salad, or an extra dessert at your wedding reception will go unnoticed and will free up some of your catering budget for what really excites you.

Appetizer Tables -
Passed hors d'oeuvres, while elegant, can drain your catering budget. Consider instead an appetizer table. And dont fret that this decision will scream low end. Infuse the table with creative displays; even a vegetable tray can be done to evoke the ultimate in class and panache.

A Casual Affair -
The most stylish events are not always black tie. A recent trend has brides breaking from the stuffy formal wedding reception and embracing a more casual and festive atmosphere. Consider instead a down-home barbeque, a New England Clambake, a Mexican Fiesta. With a little insight and ingenuity, you can serve these relaxed themes in a manner thats positively chic.

A Non-Dinner Affair -
Dinner is the most expensive meal to serve. Save on catering by considering a brunch, lunch or even a dessert reception. Your wedding budget will thank you.

A Cocktail Reception -
Along those lines, consider a menu consisting entirely of hors d'oeuvres and cocktails. If your wedding reception does not coincide with a meal time, a cocktail and appetizer reception is perfectly acceptable. Since these events typically run for only two hours, in addition to savings on catering - location, staffing and other rental fees are also considerably reduced.

For a complete guide to creating an elegant and memorable wedding celebration, visit http://www.elegala.com, your ultimate wedding planning resource.

Cori Locklin

Cori Locklin is editor-in-chief for Elegala.com and Elegala Magazine. Elegala is a new wedding planning resource offering the most comprehensive portfolio of superior wedding reception sites and wedding services, along with planning tips, photo galleries and checklists to keep brides in-the-know on today's wedding trends and styles.

For a complete guide to creating an elegant and memorable wedding celebration, visit Elegala.com, your ultimate wedding planning resource.