Weddings got ya tightening your purse strings?!

Lets face it weddings are expensive, more so if you're in the wedding party of course, but either way, they're usually an expense that was not budgeted for. So what are some tricks to make this season of weddings a little bit easier?! Lets first of all talk about outfits, some people are dealing with the fact that they've been invited to more then one wedding over the course of the next few months, I see this happen often and like to think of it as a "when it rains it pours scenario". Why does it seem like you don't go to a wedding for a year or two and then BAM! 3 weddings in 2 months....awesome. Alright, so what are some tricks to ensure you're not rocking the exact same look 3 times over, lets face it, very few people can afford to buy a new dress for every occasion. Here are some of my sure fire tricks that I learned from Glamour.com:

• What are girlfriends good for if not a closet raid every once in a while?! You could also buy a simple black dress (that truly will never go out of style!) and accessorize differently for each wedding, its hard to spot the same dress if its black and dressed up differently, I promise!
• Sign up for the email list of the stores that the couple has registered for, you might score some great coupons that you can use when buying the gift and you can always remove yourself from the emailing list afterwards.
• You don't necessarily have to go off the registry for gifts, some couples put very high ticket items that many guests have no chance at buying. So I say, buy something that you would appreciate, it reflects you and makes the gifts personal. If you enjoy cupcakes, like I do, you could make up a cupcake package, who wouldn't love that?! There is so much bang for your buck you can get with that sort of gift!
• No one says you HAVE to stay in the hotel the bride and groom are suggesting, if you're savvy search for deals on hotels in the area.
• Check to see if your credit card or any reward cards have an option to redeem points at a hotel you're planning on staying at or the store the bride and groom are registered at.
• Do you posses a special skill that your bride and groom could benefit from!? Do you take stellar photos? Are a crazy good calligraphy? Are you a superb baker?! These are all things that could really help a bride and groom out and what will take you a few hours will alleviate the gift giving process.

I hope you find these tips helpful, sometimes the best way to save money and remove stress is the easiest, least thought of way.

Stay tuned this afternoon for a special post, one that has nothing to do with weddings, but instead with my picks for a summer reading list! I LOVE when bloggers share their lists, it gives me tons of new authors to try out, so I figured I should throw my favorites out there as well!