Alcohol is a surefire way to blow a budget quickly.  Know your group.  If they aren't big drinkers try to have something available should someone want it.  If they do like to imbibe, consider asking them each to bring a bottle with them.  For this party, we used an affordable brand and bought 1 bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon and two of Chardonnay, as well as one bottle of champagne (which was leftover from a previous party).  A great way to stretch your drink dollar is to create a spritzer.  Not only does it look festive, it is super easy to make and tastes great.  There are many recipes floating around online but they mostly consist of club soda, white wine and fresh citrus juice.

Years ago I bought about 20 champagne flutes for a party at around $1 a piece at Ikea (seriously Ikea is the BEST for party people).  I have used them in various ways throughout the years but thought they could use some jazzing up for this party.  I used metallic gold spray paint and painted just the underside of the base. I didn't seal them with anything but you could probably prolong the paint with a clear coat of something.  This upgrade took about half an hour but a more seasoned crafter could probably do it faster.  I was meticulous with covering the rest of the glass and stem to keep it safe from over spray and that took the majority of the time.  The paint really adds some pizazz to an otherwise plain but needed party element.