Every engaged couple wants to create a luxurious ceremony full of top end wines, world-class food and divine details. Unfortunately, however, this vision of an impossibly chic wedding often turns out to be just that—impossible!

But if eagerly devouring wedding blogs has taught us anything, it’s that you can cut a few corners and still pull off the posh ceremony of your dreams. If you are looking to trim your reception costs, start by checking out some of these great resources for reviews of the best cheap wines on the market:

• With a chardonnay for $8 and a pinot noir for $7, Cheap Wine Finder might just be your new best friend! Visit the site to read reviews, see how pretty the labels are and more.
• Delish offers a charming slideshow of great wines under $15. You’ll feel like you’re being whisked around the globe, too, with wines from France, Italy, Australia, Spain, Argentina, Chile and beyond.
• For a little bit of sass with your shiraz, check out the series of reviews from SFoodie titled “Cheap Wines That Don’t Suck.”
• New York Magazine also has some fabulous suggestions for special occasion wines that won’t bust your budget.

A friend of the family contacted me this morning asking what I thought made a stylish winery wedding. After doing a little research, I’ve decided that the best winery weddings have a few things in common:

1. They embrace the rustic appeal of the environment in a charming way.
2. A soft glow gives the entire celebration a subtle, golden look.
3. They never take the theme too literally.

Rustic weddings are often the most romantic. From cobblestones to earthy moss, bare branches and rich, dark wood, everything about a rustic wedding can invigorate the senses and make your guests feel like they are on a weekend getaway—even if they are only a few miles from home.

Part of creating this magical ambiance involves choosing the perfect lighting. Since a lot of wineries are dark and stacked high with old oak barrels, tea lights are a natural choice for brightening up the space and taking advantage of the rows and barrels. Hundreds of tea lights artfully arranged can make your guests feel like they are in a truly enchanted space. You can even opt for electric tea lights if you are concerned about fire hazards!

Finally, don’t feel tethered to a wine theme. Hosting the event at a winery makes certain design elements a natural choice, but this elegant Provincial Poetry wedding invitation is just as stylish, sophisticated and elegantly suited  for a winery wedding as this Wine Country wedding invitation. Allow yourself to be creative!

I’ve done the candy bar thing, but if I had to do it all over again, maybe I’d add a wine bar to our wedding. Although we did have a table filled with jars of green colored candies that were a big hit with kids, I think adding a wine bar for adults would have been equally fun. The bar was filled with our favorite wines and green and cream colored sodas, but what about taking it a step further by creating a wine tasting section?

1) Ask your caterers to set up a special table for this occasion. Having the wine tasting bar in the cocktail room would be fitting.

2) Alert guests to the bar with one of those charming chalkboards I mentioned in my last post. Or print out the wine list and have it framed on the table.

3) Have fun choosing your wine. For our wedding, we chose two reds, two whites and one dessert wine that was my favorite. Buying your alcohol at places like Costco or other markets is great because you can return any extras you have.

4) Hire a bartender or ask someone you know who loves wine to work the table.

5) Take plenty of pictures! Make sure to tell your photographers to get some shots of your guests enjoying the wine tasting.