Today’s Real Wedding was submitted by Michelle of Misha Media. Majka and Ziggy married June 8, 2009 in Chicago. The photographer took advantage of the atmosphere of the Windy City to create stunning shots using Majka’s long, flowing veil. We love the Manolos and the classic city photos!

Get creative with your Save the Date cards! If you’ve decided to send a photo save the date announcement, have fun with it. Whether you hire a professional photographer or decide to have a friend take your photo, here are some unique ways to send your save the dates.

1. Great for Save the Dates or Thank You cards, this photo just requires two plain t-shirts and stick-on vinyl lettering which you can get everywhere from Office Depot to various online stores. (MarthaStewart.com)

2. Another idea is to have your photo taken during certain holidays. Dress up in costumes as a bride and a groom, or dress up your pets (costumes from Buycostumes.com) for a funny and certainly unique Save the Date Card.

3. If you are lucky enough to have your proposal on film, use it in your save the date cards as a creative way to introduce friends and family to your engagement and your upcoming wedding.

Here are a few unique cards to ask that your guests save the date!

The best part about planning my wedding was the fun and challenge of finding the best deals. Like putting together a puzzle, it forced me to find inexpensive ways to fit all the pieces together. And I was successful. Though I’m sure things could have been a little better with a few more thousand dollars, I’m much happier that one day didn’t leave me several months or years in debt. One of the ways that I saved was by making my own photo album. Instead of buying it from our photographer, which would have cost a couple thousand dollars, I went online and found several companies that do it for you for a lot less.

1) MyPublisher.com. I ordered a book filled with my engagement photos from them, and I was happy with the results. I left the book on our sign-in table for people to view.

2) KodakGallery also has a variety of photo books, including one by Martha Stewart.

3) With prices starting at $12.95 for a soft cover photo book, Blurb is pretty inexpensive and offers professional looking books for a variety of purposes.

4) Martha Stewart also has a line with Shutterfly. I recently ordered brag books from them, which were small, cute and portable–great for family members to take with them to “brag” about you to others.

5) Picaboo allows you to share your photo book online with friends and family. Like the others listed here, they offer a variety of wedding theme backgrounds. I like that there is a lot of room for text on there, too. One couple used it as an engagement album and wrote about how the groom proposed.