The Plunge Blog

It's a simple media equation. Recession + Wedding Season = 20,000 articles about how to save money at your wedding. (Are we guilty of this cliché? Absolutely.)

Today's Wall Street Journal, however, finds a curious new angle: brides who resell their gowns after the wedding.

Is this logical? Money-smart? Yes and yes. But go ahead and try suggesting this to your fiancée . We dare you. And then we'll profile you in our new sister site, TheCoffin.com.

In fact, this trend inspired us to write the Top 10 Worst Money-Saving Ideas you can possibly suggest to your bride: 

10. Resell the bride's wedding dress

From the WSJ: "Wedding planners and other specialists say that they're seeing more brides selling their dresses." Or, for the daring groom, sell the dress without telling her. 9 brides out of 10 never open the box again; just ebay the gown and swap it with a white shower curtain.

9. Corporate sponsorship

Really commit to this. Don't just have the appetizers sponsored by Frito Lay--that's the obvious stuff--actually incorporate sponsors, product placement, and advertising into your wedding vows. It's not hard. Try it: "Rebecca, I've loved you ever since the night we met at Dairy Queen, enjoying the Hershey's Kiss Blizzard, on sale for a limited time for only $2.99, using these coupons that you can find inside your wedding program."

8. Pot luck

Channel the spirit of community. Wouldn't the guests feel more of a sense of camaraderie, togetherness, if they each cooked a meal and brought it to share?

7. Wednesday morning wedding

Everyone knows that you can save money with a Sunday wedding. But why stop there? For the modern couple, the smart move is to get married at 7am on a Wednesday morning--providing your guests a nice Continental breakfast--and letting them finish up in time for work. Wait, you say it's impossible to get the family together for a mid-week ceremony? One word: funeral. If Wednesday's good enough for the dead, why not do it for the living?

6. Go surfing on your honeymoon. Couch surfing.

After blowing so much money on a wedding, only an idiot would spend more money on a gratuitous vacation. Do the exact opposite of a vacation: sublet your house or apartment--stop paying rent--and then spend the next two months couch-surfing with your friends. This way you get to share your new life as newlyweds with the people that matter most.

5. Cut the bride's makeup, hair, and spa treatments

Embrace what really counts: inner-beauty.  You'd love your fiancée no matter what she looks like, right? Now everyone else can do the same.

4. BYOB

It's sort of rude, when you really think about it, to presume to know your guests' favorite drinks and liquor. Why not let them choose for themselves? Politely encourage them to bring their very finest bottles of wine.

3. Marry via Skype

It's free, it's easy, it's the future. Kiss those in-person weddings goodbye.

2. Ditch the photographer

Who needs to spend $2.1k on photographers when your guests' iPhones have 2.1 megapixels?

1. Charge a cover

Tell everyone that in order to come to your wedding, they need to pay you $100. Be sneaky about it, and say that you're also willing to accept barter. In fact you can use code and have them call it a "gift." To streamline this cover charge process, you can even create, oh, let's call it a "gift registry."

Or, if you're in the mood for something (a little) more serious, here's how to use the 80/20 rule to save money on your wedding without being Groomzilla.