My wife and I are recent newlyweds. While we tried to be responsible with the costs of a wedding, at 200 people, we knew the costs were going to add up. It only made sense to try to save as much money as possible in anticipation of those wedding bills. We found we could save a great sum of money by going out on frugal dates.

I thought I’d share five of our favorite cheap date ideas:

• Picnic in the Park – Instead of paying restaurant prices for brunch, you pay grocery store prices. Instead of paying $20 and up for wine, you look for cheaper options under $10. If you have a radio, that can certainly add to the romance.
• Tour a Factory – In Northern California we have Jelly Belly and a Budweiser factories. When we lived near Boston we had options of Sam Adams and Yankee Candle. I recommend the book Watch It Made in the USA, which should be available from your local library.
• Movie Night – Red Box and DVD Play each have the latest DVDs available for about a dollar. Add a cozy blanket, microwave popcorn, and your favorite beverage… fun.
• Camping or Hiking – My wife loves the outdoors so this is one of her favorites. I don’t mind the outdoors, I just think that every tree should be Internet-enabled. I’m building up into liking this date more and more. In a year or two, I might be there.
• Minor League Sporting Events – Here’s a slightly more expensive option. My wife and I went to a Modesto Nuts baseball game last year. Tickets are around $7-10. Food was reasonably priced and the team gave away shirts and souvenirs in between innings. Even though we didn’t know any of the players, we still had fun inventing nicknames for them. We still associate any clutch performance with Jose Chavez, a player who got a huge hit in the game.

A good general rule of thumb is to opt for outside activities. If your wallet is looking a little thin, you might want to trade in your standard Saturday night restaurant date for one of the above options.

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Lazy Man has been a lender at Prosper since February 2006. He is the author of the personal finance blog, Lazy Man and Money and the health and fitness blog, Lazy Man and Health.