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My wedding was on the extreme side of small. And the extreme side of short-term. In fact, we put the whole thing together in about two weeks. As such, it was kind of like eloping. My husband's family could not fly in from the U.K. on such short notice, and there were no invitations, so the vast majority of our friends were not there either (just the best man). To include all of them in our celebration, we opted for a post-wedding reception nine months later (after a trip to the U.K. to visit relatives there). Although we had help with expenses, we still wanted to keep it budget-wise. Here's how you can organize a simple and lovely post-wedding reception without breaking the piggy bank.

Keep it casual: We decided to keep the celebration casual. Since we had been married for the better part of a year already, we didn't think a black-tie gala was needed and we skipped traditional first dances, bouquet tosses, etc. and went with a simple toast and cake cutting.

Choose a friendly location: Our reception was in a family friend's home, built by movie director Cecil B. DeMille, in the foothills under Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. The home was so beautiful that we didn't need elaborate decorations. Other good options are community or activity centers or your church's activity room. Add a few basic decorations and you can really set the scene for your reception.

Keep the menu simple: We had finger foods catered and a cake to cut and share with friends. A simple menu keeps both cost and planning to a minimum.

DIY: I made invitations on a computer at work. This wasn't commonplace 15 years ago, but it's much easier now with templates and basic publishing software. You can even print them on your printer (back in the day, mine were black and white). We also had photo albums of our wedding ceremony on hand so guests could relive the day with us.

Re-use fashion: I took the opportunity to wear my wedding dress again. After all, my friends hadn't seen it yet and it was simple enough to suit the occasion. For the post-wedding reception, it's really not necessary to have cutting edge, runway fashion. Friends are there to see you, not a dress.