Hello - I am getting married in October and also live in NE - We only invited a few people to our DW so we want to do something for other people that we didn't invite but would love to share our wedding with. I am unsure of when we are going to do an AHR though. We come back from our HM in the beginning of November so I don't know if we will be up to planning something for the following weekend and then it gets into all the holidays. Also, like you mentioned the weather is always an issue that time of year. So for that reason I think I am going to plan for spring - anything further will seem just too far I think.
As for ways to not spend too much - there is the obvious DIYing things like decor. Also, check places like craigslist for listing from people trying to get into specific fields ie: photography, baking/cake decorating, floral design, event planning, and so on. Be sure to meet them (more then once) and get some samples of work and any references they might have. If you can find someone that seems like a good fit it is a great way to save you money and give them work for their portfolios.
Hope that helps