Two college professors are sharing their research on negotiating to help brides-to-be save money on their weddings.

The two are co-authors of the new book, "The Bargaining Bride: How to Have the Wedding of Your Dreams Without Paying the Bills of Your Nightmares."

Swarthmore College psychology professor Andrew Ward teamed up with Shirit Kronzon, who teaches negotiation at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, to coach brides-to-be on how to get the best deals.

Ward said the book was a natural extension of his research, which focuses on overcoming psychological barriers to the negotiated resolution of disputes.

"Although weddings are emotional and spiritual, they also represent a series of business transactions," said Ward. "This book teaches the basics of negotiation and how to apply them to meetings with vendors."

Kronzon said she got the idea for the book while planning her own recent wedding.

She said it occurred to her that brides and their families could benefit from learning the basics of bargaining.

Some of the tips included in the book:

• Bring someone along as a devil's advocate.
• Use a contingency contract to cover last-minute surprises. "Have something that says, 'If I don’t receive x flowers, then y, and if not y, then I'll be compensated,'" said Ward.
• Beware of hidden charges, such as cake-cutting, corkage, and alteration fees.
• Set an amount you won't exceed, and don't feel trapped into spending more.

The authors said bargaining for the best deals may not feel like a very romantic thing to do, but they said it makes good financial sense.

"Some think it's inappropriate to put a dollar value on something that's supposed to have a romantic air about it," Ward said. "But next to a house, the wedding is the most expensive thing a couple may buy. It makes sense to be prepared."

"The Bargaining Bride" has advice on striking bargains on everything from the bridal gown to the invitations, but there's one topic that was deliberately left out of the book.

"Call us hopeless romantics, but we don's discuss pre-nups," Ward said.