Wedding Planning

So now that we have our civil union license, we have been starting to plan our ceremony and reception.  We're shooting for May of next year, sometime around our anniversary.  It's a little overwhelming that there's SO much we need to think about.  We haven't even set a firm budget yet, but we get free catering (our wedding present), so that's one less thing to worry about.
We actually ended up buying our wedding bands yesterday.  We originally went just to look, because I saw a few that I liked online.  I had intended to keep the purchase under $500, but quickly realized that might not be reasonable.  After seeing them in person, I decided to go with something a little more expensive.  The ring above is the one I chose and I really love it.  we had to special order a ring in my size (3.5 -_-) so it will take a couple of weeks to get it in.  I also bought her wedding band as well, which was a lot cheaper than mine, but still looks really nice.  I'm so excited we finally have one thing done, and I can't wait to get the rings!
Has anyone else ever been through planning a wedding on a budget?  Any tips on how to save money?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)
Btw does anyone else use Pinterest?  Here's my profile: http://pinterest.com/akira53/