WEDDING GOSSIP Girl In A White Dress 26 11529 views

Our resident bride and wedding expert, Cheryl, is back from her big day and floating on a wedding-induced cloud of loveliness, and will be talking weddings with you every week...

It’s not easy being a bride-to-be these days, what with everything costing six hundred times as much as it used to. Trying to squash everything into your budget can feel a bit like squeezing into a jumper that’s shrunk in the wash. Many of us feel compelled to part with our cash at the first mention of favour boxes, but there are ways of having a fabulous wedding without causing credit card meltdown. Here are just a few ideas to help control the splurging:

Ditch the disposables

Saving: up to £50

In the entire history of weddings and the thousands of disposable cameras that have adorned the tables of millions of weddings, it is a fact that of all the photos ever developed only four photos have ever come out clearly. The remainder always show out-of-focus people making indecent gestures or, as was the case at my wedding, photographing blurry body parts…! Most people nowadays take their own state-of-the-art cameras to weddings, and upload their photos to a website set up by the bride and groom - such as the fab PhotoShare that is part of a WeddingPath website. Or simply send their photos on a disc to the happy couple.

Shop around

Saving: hundreds

You may have your eye on that delicious Choccywoccydoodah cake, but a beautifully iced fruit cake from M&S, exquisitely decorated with a few fresh flowers will be just as eye-catching at a fraction of the cost.
Buying off the hanger is now the wedding-savvy way of bagging a bargain. Shops like Debenhams, Bhs, M&S, ASDA sell beautiful dresses and separates for as little as £50, while Next has a stunning range of wedding shoes, starting from £25.

Beg, borrow or hire

Saving: thousands

You may think that every detail of your big day has to be brand new, but it really doesn’t. We all have friends, family, neighbours, colleagues, hairdressers who have got married and would be more than happy to lend out their garden furniture, glass vases, even tiaras to help you save a few quid.
And hiring your wedding dress instead of buying is a great way to keep costs down, and saves you money on dry cleaning bills and storage space in your loft.

There are loads of ways to save some pennies, so let us know your best money-saving tips!

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