i may be focusing on the wrong thing but oh well... the thing that bothers me the most about your situation is that your wedding is a year out and already two of your bridesmaids know that they won't be able to attend? they have a year to plan and you picked them for a REASON. i'm sorry... i'm just dealing with the same thing, my moh is basically been a no show as far as the planning and all goes so i feel the pain of other girls when they are going through the same situation, esp when the girls have time to plan ahead.

as far as the budget wedding goes, talk to your local college students. there are photography majors and music majors and (if you're lucky) culinary students all over the place just looking for things to put on a resume or in a portfolio. that's what i did. :-)

best of luck in your planning :-)