This is a series of posts currently being featured on the Real Weddings Magazine blog and was previously posted on January 30th.

What is a Recessionista? A recessionista is someone who seeks out fashionable items which are also low-cost.

With that said, our country has been through a challenging economic turmoil over the past couple of years and in return, the average wedding budget has been under the same monetary crunch. Brides are looking to maximize every dollar in their wedding planning budget, while still having the wedding of the dreams – and, believe me when I say, it’s possible!

One of my favorite weddings that we planned last year was Stevie and Blake (a featured real wedding in the current issue of Real Weddings Magazine). This couple was on a very tight budget, but we were able to help the bride to think outside of the box and garner the help of her friends and family to create a truly amazing experience for her wedding guests. Stevie and Blake were to be first-time home buyers and their budget was suddenly considerably less than we had initially discussed. We were able to create a fashionable fete for 100 guests at a boutique hotel for half of their initial budget.

We always love a challenge, but this required out-of-the-box thinking from Stevie as well – after all, the traditional Reem Acra gown and Chivari chairs were certainly no longer in the picture. After investing in her wedding planner, she was willing to get creative in all aspects of her wedding planning and enlist her friends and family to help her with a multitude of DIY projects. So we made a budget and a plan to follow that budget.

The Recessionista Bride Series will cover the secrets to how we scrimped and saved to keep the costs low while spending our energy creatively to create a wedding of extraordinary detail for Stevie and Blake!”

Are you a Recessionista Bride? If so, what unique ways have you kept your wedding budget low?

Tune back in to the Real Weddings Magazine blog on February 2nd or to the KME Blog on February 3rd for the next installment: Recessionista Bride Series: Alter an Unexpected Dress