Buying a Wedding Dress on a budget

If you think your wedding dress will cost a fortune, you could be so wrong!

Read this short guide to get the most out of dress hunting, you will look amazing on the day and no-one will ever know your secret of buying a dress at a fraction of the price.

David Tuttera Mon Cherie Dress

1. Lets start at the beginning, you have been flipping through the pages of every bridal magazine there is and have found so many that you love. BUT, when you try to check out the price at your local stockist, they either don't tell you or its extortionate. They want you to try it, if you love it you will pay the price (that old trick).

So, you start a savings pot for the amazing dress but you really don't know if it will suit you...it looks amazing on the model (who, has been airbrushed and professionally photographed! We will NEVER look like the, believe me). The secret here is to cut the pics out of the magazine and take them with you to a fitting, each designer will follow trend and you will always find something similar from each high street brand.

2. Keep your mind open and try on around 8 dresses to begin with, any more than that and you will without doubt, confuse yourself. At this point, don't be disheartened if you are not finding that WOW dress....this will come. Try 8 different styles so on another fitting, you have already decided the styles you lime and focus what it is that you love, then try dresses that cover 85% of your requirements (sleeves, low/high neckline, mermaid, long train etc).

3. When you know what it is you like, go to the sales, the secret is that every bridal store has at least 2 a year and they will be this seasons designs and you will get a bargain! If you know you like a certain dress by a designer, see who sells it and ask outright if its in their sale.Please be aware that if it is, you may be restricted by the sample size itself....or you could always look on Ebay.

4. Most bridal dresses are Polyester and if they have been pre loved, they will clean very easily by a professional. Again, please check how tall the previous owner is and the rising she is now, not the size on the dress as she will have had it altered. Ask if you can go and try before you buy as it could be a costly mistake.

5. Find a boutique, like Reflection Gowns, that sells overstock (surplus designer dresses at around 65% off the retail cost). These dresses are brand new and have been sourced to relieve bridal boutiques of the surplus dresses they have. These dresses have been ordered by the boutique as per the contract with each designer (usually around 6-8 each season and there are 3 -4 seasons per year). Most boutiques can't store and show all these gowns so they choose their favourites (not necessarily the brides) and then sell the others to select stockists. These dresses are incredible and the most amazing prices....these are the dresses where you save the most money and will look fabulous on your big day.

6. We all see the dresses for sale from China and they look beautiful but please don't be fooled into believing they will arrive looking the same. Our experience has proven a few thins, they either don't arrive at all, they arrive and look nothing like the photo, they are usually the wrong colour but most importantly, they are ALWAYS too small. This is your big day and you can afford to take a chance on a dress that may not arrive and if it does, it takes around 4 months (they may have run off with your money). That said, there have been a few lucky ladies who believe the dress is gorgeous but these ladies are few and far between. Save yourself the heartache and disappointment and buy a dress in the UK, or your own country, and don't be tempted by cheaper dresses that will never be what they seem.

7. Try on as many dresses as you need to find the perfect dress (not all in one fitting) and then look around at all the stockists who sell it....haggle to get the best deal. Every pound you save is another beautiful item for your big day!! Its worth travel across the country (its only a train ride or car ride) to save hundreds or even thousands of pounds).

8. Enjoy your savings and remember......this is your beautiful day so enjoy it (you will only wear this dress once so save as much as you can).