Marrying the person of your dreams doesn’t come cheap. A new survey shows the average American wedding costs more than 28-thousand dollars, not counting the honeymoon. That’s according to the annual Real Weddings Study, which surveyed more than 17-thousand women who were married in 2012. The average wedding dress clocked in at about 12-hundred dollars. Another big-ticket item, the engagement ring, averaged 54-hundred dollars. Sharon Naylor, author of The Bride’s Guide to Freebies has a few tips to help you save…she says 1. Get in your vendors mailing and social media lists, you’ll get the first scoop on deals, contests, and freebies, You’ll hear about clearance sales, “Pin It To Win It” contests on Pinterest, trunk shows and more deals you wouldn’t have known about otherwise. And with most big ticket items, you need to make a budget and stick to it.  Even if that means cutting the guest list.