A cheap wedding decoration idea can send cold shivers down most people as they imagine decorations that have had a hard life, possibly made of cheap plastic and just don't look quite right. So how do you make the most of your limited decoration budget?

Firstly, make sure you have a budget, it is all too easy to just add another garden gnome (just kidding) into the shopping trolley and bang goes your budget.

Secondly, check out the venue that you are using for your wedding. Even if it is a marquee, ask the hirer if you can see the tent up. This way you can walk through the room as if it was set up for your reception, imagine the tables and chairs in place and then take a good look at the room.

Think about the areas that will make the most impact, entrances, top table, dance floor and the biggest problem area! You will now be able to plan where you allocate your decorating budget and now avoid spending money on areas and items that won't get seen.

An easy cheap wedding decoration idea is to use balloons, speak to a local supplier about costing the areas that you want covered. You don't need to turn the room into a children's party or have balloons on every table, columns and clusters of balloons can give a focal point to a room where there wasn't one. To save even more money if you are just thinking of having clusters, you can buy the balloons and ribbon and the gas cannisters and do your own. From my own experience this simple display is fairly straight forward, remember to buy extra balloons and have lots of volunteers as it can take some time.

Homegrown flowers or flowers in season are a cheap way to add color to a room, pots of daffodils or even decorated pots with a pillar candle and ivy can add a simple elegant touch.

Tulle, which is that almost net curtain type material can be great to drape around ugly pillars.

Fairy lights are great for an evening reception and the net lights look great against a window as they reflect and you get double the twinkle.

Big branches can be cemented into a large pot and either sprayed silver or white with lights looks stunning.

Renting large plants and even trees in tubs is a quick way to hide areas, they don't cost that much for a short rental as they mainly will hire to offices and they normally deliver.

When you are buying your decorations it is worth asking if there is a return policy, most shops will normally let you return if they are still in the packaging and you have the receipt. Make sure your helpers don't open everything in a fit of enthusiasm, just open packs as you need them and save yourself some money. This way you can also have emergency decorations just in case.

Work with the venue as they will know how the room has been decorated before and what works well. You don't need to reinvent the wheel or even create a magical wonderland that wouldn't look out of place in a Broadway show, just have fun and let your creative side come out and play. When you talk with the venue make sure that they will remove any extra objects in the room - staging, seating and any furniture that doesn't fit in with your plans, you don't want to be decorating any extra areas because the venue is being a bit lazy.

Don't forget you can buy pre-owned wedding decorations on most wedding forum sites. What else are you going to do with 20 fake trees dressed in green glitter and covered in plastic decorations when you have finished? Sell, sell, sell and your cheap wedding decoration idea may even make you money!