No, I’m not talking about the dress, I’m talking about the budget.

Ed and I are definitely feeling the effects of high gas prices and the new mortgage, so we’ve been very cautious in what we’ll splurge on for the wedding, and we’ve eliminated some extras, like the gifts at the wedding.

The Boston Globe as a piece about brides heading the DIY route for much of the wedding or deciding to head out of town for the wedding to cut costs. I think looking at other states works especially well in you’re in Massachusetts or southern New Hampshire, where costs really can get out of control.

If you are planning to have a local “destination wedding,” I’d recommend contacting the area’s chamber of commerce. We did that in Portland, Maine, and had very good luck. They pointed us in the direction of reasonable bakers for the wedding cake, hotels that offer discounts for weddings and other great vendors that could offer high quality at reasonable prices.

However, if you decide to go out of town to cut costs, you may have to cut down the DIY. It’s not practical to think you can make a wedding cake and drag it 2 hours in the car 2 days ahead of the wedding. At that point, pony up for the cake — even if it’s just a sheet cake — rather than giving the guests food poisoning. Sometimes it’s worth the cost, especially with e-mail making it much easier to communicate and plan your wedding from afar. Just plan to go up a month before the wedding and finalize the details, so you don’t have any unpleasant surprises on the big day.

Also, if you want to take a break from planning this weekend, check out this wedding exhibit in Salem.