Cheap & Cheerful Wedding Favours with a Touch of Whimsy

This one wedding blog post could save you fortune - I've found the perfect website for wedding favours - and some of them work out as 50p each! Take a look at the amazing Wedding in a Teacup Etsy shop and start getting excited. My favourites are the cute personalised paper favour bags containing wild-flower or forget-me-not seeds. They'll add a pretty touch to your wedding table, and send everyone home with lasting memory of your big day. Love them? Well you'll like their hangover kit favour bags even more!

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How to Save Money on Your Wedding at Ikea

When we picked our wedding venue in France, one of the first things I researched, was the nearest Ikea! Luckily there was one only an hour away, as I knew that I didn't want to have to ship out all the amazing wedding accessories I'd spotted for our big day. Candles, canapé serviettes, French-style napkins and lanterns - we picked them all up super-cheap, and none of our wedding guests knew the difference. At one stage we even considered buying glasses, as they worked out as cheaper to buy from Ikea than rent, but in the end our caterer provided them for free. Take a look at my latest Ikea wedding finds - from blanket favours in case your guests feel chilly, to pretty lace-style plant pots, water bottles, wine carafes, orchid table decorations, and even giant artificial potted plants to decorate your marquee. It's a veritable treasure trove!

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Versatile Two for One Wedding Dresses

Trending in wedding fashion right now? Versatile two-piece wedding dresses. It's the natural evolution of brides wanting a formal gown for their ceremony, and a shorter, sexier number for their evening reception. This season it's all about adapting your look from romantic and floaty, to something more modern and chic. The clever designers at BHLDN {the wedding shop spin-off from my favourite whimsical lifestyle store Anthropologie} have come up with delicate overlay dresses teamed with elegant strapless gowns. Try the Bella and the Fleuretta on for size - both currently on sale on the BHLDN website, which is easily one of my favourite wedding boutiques.

{I want this!} Fleuretta Gown $1000

{I want this!} Bella Gown $1470 {on sale!}

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Introducing Ada's Bridal Reasonable Wedding Dresses

Regular readers of this blog will know I'm passionate about finding reasonable wedding dresses. I'm always slightly outraged by how much designers charge for their gowns - they know we want to look extra special on our wedding day, and they capitalise on that by upping their prices. So that's why I'm thrilled to introduce Ada's Bridal Wedding Dresses. This fantastic online store is chock-a-block with cheap wedding dresses you'll love! With gowns of every style and shape, you're sure to find a bargain. I'm loving short flirty dresses this season, and I was thrilled to find one for only £80!! Brides looking for Princess-style ball gown wedding dresses will love their range - you can even buy extra petticoats for a fuller skirt. Take a look at their fabulous range of bridesmaid dresses and wedding accessories - I was really impressed with their stunning Grecian style gowns.

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Sassi Holford Wedding Dress Sample Sale

Oh yes! In exceedingly exciting news, one of my favourite designers, Sassi Holford is hosting a summer sale in her London and Taunton boutiques. With {wait for it}...... up to 70% off her beautiful handmade gowns, this is definitely one for your diary. Pencil in for 4th-11th July, and call to book an appointment - London 020 7584 1532 / Taunton 01823 256308.

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Mirror Mirror Wedding Dress Sample Sale

Wedding dresses can be a huge part of your budget if you pay full price. Luckily there are lots of sample sales each year in London and around the UK. Follow me on Twitter, to make sure you don't miss a single sale! Mirror Mirror has got to be one of London's best designer wedding dress boutiques, so you can imagine how excited I am to discover the dates of their summer sample sale. It's taking place on Sunday 28th June 2015 11am - 4pm at their shop at 56 Penton Street in north London. They're promising a fantastic selection of dresses from top designers, including Pronovias, Atelier, Cymbeline, Yolancris, Gemy, La Sposa, Raimon Bundo, Paloma Blanca, Alan Hannah, Mirror Mirror Couture, and much more. Most of the gowns are from 2015 collections!

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20 Ways to Save Money on Your Wedding Day

Budget-savvy brides know it's possible to have the wedding of their dreams, without paying the price. It's all about the three C's - being clever, cautious and creative. Plan ahead, don't rush into anything without doing your research, and where possible, DIY or call on the creative skills of friends and family. Here are my top 50 ways to save money on your wedding day - share it on Twitter and send it to your friends!

Affordable Wedding Dress Series - Monsoon

One of my best friends from university got married in a wedding dress from Monsoon, and it completely opened my eyes to the brilliance of the British high street. We have the best shops in the world in the UK, and every season they translate {ahem...copy!} the catwalk into affordable garments. And the wedding catwalk is no different! I'll often see stunning gowns I think are Jenny Packham or Temperley London, and actually they turn out to be high street honeys. Here are a few of my favourites from Monsoon - I love the 1920s feel to many of the gowns - they feel like they could have come straight from The Great Gatsby. Don't miss their flower-girl and bridesmaids dresses and their truly fabulous wedding shoe department.

Affordable Wedding Dress Series - Rowan Joy

Bride's looking for a vintage look are going to fall head-over-heels for these gorgeous gowns by Rowan Joy. Her designs are heavily influenced by the decadence of 1920's and grace of the 1930's, with a flattering cut and flowing skirts. Each dress is made-to-order, so she needs three months notice, but this means your gown will be made-to-measure for under a thousand pounds! Take a look at the designs below - more from different eras on her website.

Affordable Wedding Dress Series - Grace Loves Lace

This morning I am mostly loving these beautiful boutique dress by Australian designer Grace Loves Lace. At Grace, they personally create stunning ready-to-wear wedding dresses from the French laces and silks, to create a fabulous boho, vintage gowns you'll love. The dresses all have a pretty nostalgic charm and rather wonderful price tags, starting from only £500! Amazing!

{I want this!} 1. Boho Lace Wedding Dress, £950 | 2. Long Lace Sleeve Wedding Dress, £764

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Affordable Wedding Dress Series

My nanny's getting married, and she's looking for a wedding dress for under £1000. Probably well under £1k, but you'd be astonished how difficult it is to get under that magic number. I'm ashamed to admit that at first, I was no help at all. As a wedding blogger, I find that most of my posts are about dream wedding gowns, rather than the nitty, gritty practicals of actually paying for one. I did write a couple of posts about how to buy a designer wedding gown for less, but in the three years since I've been writing this blog, I've only featured a few reasonable designers - Minna and some great Etsy sellers like Truvelle & Rowan Joy. But now that's all set to change, as I've been doing my research, and coming up with a great selection of wedding dress designers in the UK who don't try and rip you off at every turn. Stay tuned for the amazing Before the Big Day Affordable Wedding Dress Series!

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DIY Luxury Wedding: Beaded Belts & Accessories

If you're a bride with eyes bigger than your budget, you're going to adore my latest wedding discovery. Take one simple, wallet-friendly wedding dress, and add one of these incredible beaded trims by Allyson James, and BOOM! you've got a luxury-looking wedding gown without the price tag. Allyson James' beaded trims are made out of exactly the same quality trims you see on designer gowns such as Vera Wang and Monique Lhuillier, they're hand-sewn with the finest crystals, pearls, beads and sequins. Trims arrive ready to be sewn into sashes, belts, headpieces, bouquet wraps...whatever your DIY dream desires. Time to let your wedding imagination run wild!

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Beautiful Wedding Jewellery for the Budget Conscious Bride

When I was planning my wedding, I was all about trying to create a luxe look on a budget. But that's easier to do with wedding decorations and stationery.....when it comes to your wedding gown and jewellery, it's much harder. I splashed out and bought a designer gown, but I paired with realistic, but fake diamond jewellery {apart from my engagement ring!}. So I was thrilled to discover these pretty perfect pearl drop earrings by Olivier Laudus. They're made out of cubic zirconia, but only you need to know that! If anyone asks, I'd say they're a vintage find from this little boutique you found in London!

{I want this!} Pearl drop earrings, £39.99 by Olivier Laudus

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Boho-Style Wallet Friendly Wedding Dresses from Minna

I need to start this article with something of a disclaimer. Despite all my {strong} feelings against the necessity of spending a fortune on your wedding dress, I ended up buying my gown from Delphine Manivet for over £2k. I loved it, and I felt beyond amazing on my wedding day, but I felt sooooo guilty about the cost. It just seemed such a crazy sum to spend on one dress and one day. To make up for it, I'm always on the hunt for beautiful wedding gowns, and one of my favourite designers is Minna. Her stunning boho gowns feature intricate lace, pretty florals, cute pom-pom edging and even bunting {!}, but most of them come in at under £600. Her headpieces and veils are super-reasonable, and they even stock adorable flower girls dress, like this stunning Alexa dress. When I recommended Minna to my wedding planner, Kerry Bracken of Lavender & Rose Weddings, she bought three - one for each stage of her wedding! Take a look at them in action in my features on her wedding. ** P.S. I just checked out Minna's Facebook page, and discovered details for their up-coming Trunk Sale. Save even more from 11th April until 3rd May! **

Five Easy Ways to Avoid Breaking Your Wedding Budget

I'm yet to meet a bride who doesn't have to work within some sort of budget. Even the luckiest of girls balk at spending tens of thousands on what is ultimately a one-day affair. Here on Before the Big Day, we're all about saving pennies, whether it's through DIY projects, or clever compromises, but it wasn't until my best friend started planning her wedding, that I realised just how many thrifty hints I had in my back pocket. Here are a few of my favourites - I hope they help you stick within your budget....

{Photo Credit} Tanya Lippert Photography

1. Go online for your wedding favours, stationery, decorations and general wedding supplies. There's a reason the high street is failing, and it's because savvy shoppers buy everything from Amazon or eBay. Before I buy anything, I compare the prices on Amazon and eBay, and any other relevant online shops. I've found giant white balloons priced at £5 each on some websites, while you can find them on eBay for less than a pound - particularly if you're buying in bulk. It's the same with paper lanterns.

2. Wedding cakes are another wedding detail where you can make massive savings. A designer cake can cost over a £1000, and although they'll be beautiful, and taste fantastic, not everyone can stretch to such a massive sum. If your mum's not up to baking a fashionable naked wedding cake {the icing is the hardest element to recreate}, then buy your tiers from M&S or Waitrose, and DIY your own decorations using fresh flowers or fruit, or even butterflies.

{Photo Credit} Anna Louise Crossley, more from this pink themed wedding

3. Look out for secret sales and voucher offers online. It's amazing how many big name boutiques offer discounts on their dresses and accessories on their websites. Find the bridesmaids dresses you want on the high street, and then go online to see if they're cheaper. You could even do a spot-check on your iPhone from the changing room! 

4. Wedding flowers are easy to DIY. I recommend spending money on professionally tied bouquets and buttonholes, but fabulous table flowers are easy to create on your own, using blooms bought from your local flower market, or online. If you're not artistic, then avoid fancy arrangements and fill lots of small vases or jam-jars with the same flower, and mix and match.

{Photo Credit} Paige Jones

5. One of the biggest expenses of a wedding is the reception meal. Three-course meals are pricey and often unnecessarily extravagant. Instead host a BBQ with a selection of table salads, a picnic {complete with baskets and blankets} or a vintage tea-party. With fun styling, no one will notice you're trying to save money. Offer wedding cake for pudding, or keep it cheap and very cheerful with a DIY ice-cream station, complete with cones, toppings and 99p flakes.

** For more money saving tips - How to Buy Your Wedding Dress for Less **

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Colourful Paper Wedding Decorations

For cheap and chic wedding decorations, take inspiration from the Mexican festival Cinco de Mayo. Celebrated on the 5th May, it's a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, and a great excuse for a fiesta! Add some colour and character to your big day with these tissue decorations - either buy them via Etsy, or make your own - check out my Pinterest board for easy DIY-bride ideas.

{Product Credit} Bright Fringy Tissue Paper Garland by Chiarabelle

{Product Credit} Colourful Rosette Decorations by Paper Altar

{Product Credit} Bright Pom Poms by Paper White Designs

More posts like this one:

✽ Personalised Mexican Lace Bunting

✽ Origami Wedding Trend

♥ Want to see wedding decorations? ♥ Or how about more DIY wedding ideas? ♥

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Wedding Accessory High Street Finds

The first port of call for brides on a budget should always be the High Street. There's a great British tradition of providing stylish fashion at budget prices - something other countries are desperate to imitate. Whether you actually stomp the streets is an entirely different question, as every website worth its salt now has a fantastic online option. This season, I'm particularly impressed by the selection of earrings at Anthropologie. They're perfect for your 'something blue', or as bridesmaids gifts. Also, don't miss Jenny Packham's diffusion line, I've fallen for her fluffy feather stole and White Swan-style headband.

{Product Credits} 1. Precious Cluster Earrings {£98},  2. Cynosure Mobile Earrings {£28} 3. Concert Hall Drops {£28} all Anthropologie

{Product Credits} 1. Ivory Feather Stole {£100}, 2. Ivory Jewelled Headband {£48} 3. Grey Halo Feather Headband {£35} all No.1 Jenny Packham for Debenhams

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Real DIY Budget Wedding: Katie & Josh

Budget brides and DIY brides are going to love this fabulous wedding, submitted by a Before the Big Day reader! Katie got loads of her wedding inspiration from this wedding blog, and I'm thrilled to be featuring her gorgeous big day. If you're worrying about your wedding budget, take heart in the fact Katie and Josh only had £7k to spend, and every detail was gorgeous. From the butterfly theme to the moustache and tiara favours, and hugely realist fake flowers {eco- and budget friendly}, it's a fabulous flurry of wedding perfection. Don't miss Katie's top tips in the brides questionnaire below - you'll be making notes! Stunning pictures published with thanks to Sarah Janes Photography.

The Before the Big Day Bridal Q&A - Katie was kind enough to fill in our bridal questionnaire, aimed at helping other brides with their planning process. Feast your eyes on her answers for helpful hints and tips from someone on the other side of her big day!

Where and when did you get married?
We got married on May 7th in a beautiful small town in North Wales called Llangollen. We married in the Llangollen Methodist Church and then moved to the White Waters Hotel down the river for the reception – but not before playing a round of crazy golf!

What was your thinking behind choosing the venue and the decoration of the reception?
Llangollen was the obvious choice of location, it’s just so beautiful. We looked around three venues before calling in to the White Waters on the off-chance for a wedding brochure and they offered to show us around the whole hotel. The staff were so friendly, we decided to book, although we checked four more times before putting a deposit down!

Did you have a theme, colour or motif in mind?
We had a strict budget in mind of £7,000 for the day and we managed to stick to it more or less ({that amount definitely didn’t include the honeymoon!}. Josh and I met at Leeds Met University and the University colours are aubergine and grass green, which just happen to be my favourite colours too. Purple was my underlying colour, but I was careful not to surrender myself to purple overload…I also love butterflies, I found in the lead up to the day that I seemed to be collecting more butterfly items. So the butterfly theme just kind of emerged over time…

Who made your wedding outfit, and how did you come to that decision?
My dress was from a great shop called Confetti & Lace in Harrogate, and was made by Ellis Bridals.  My dress was around number 11 that I'd tried on and when I first tried this one on I loved it, but I kept looking just in case something else was out there. I couldn’t choose between two pairs of shoes from Schuh, so I ended up buying both! My necklace, bracelet and butterfly ring were from Debenhams. Sparkly, reasonably priced chic!

What about your husband’s outfit? Where was it from?
We hired suits from Cameron Ross via Yorkshire Menswear. My dress hunt took a fair few months, his suit hunt took thirty minutes…where’s the justice?!

And how about your bridesmaids’ outfits?
We lucked out here! My three beautiful sisters were my bridesmaids and we all got together in January to go shopping for dresses. All I had in mind was that I didn’t want them to look exactly the same; they are all totally different people and I wanted them to be able to express themselves. We walked in to Monsoon and I saw it! A strapless purple and grey cocktail dress reduced from £130 to £60. I left the bridesmaids to choose their own shoes and accessories, and they customised their own dresses, adding straps or a ribbon waist. My little niece wore a flower girl dress from BHS.

What type of cake did you go for, and how did you come to that decision?
We kept it simple and went to Marks and Spencers! I’d seen the butterfly cake on Before the Big Day, and ordered the butterflies from Etsy and assembled them myself. I also ordered two cupcake towers from M&S and bought some edible butterfly wafers from Ebay to decorate them.

Did you have any favours? What were they? Was there any particular reason why you picked them?
I didn't want to spend money on items that would be left on tables - so we gave each man a moustache on a stick (idea taken from Before the Big Day too!) and each girl/lady/Nan got a tiara – 89p for four from Wilkinsons. I loved looking back over the photos and seeing everyone use these – we’ve got some excellent poses going on in them!

Who was your florist, what flowers did you choose, and how did you come to that decision?
As our wedding was in a small town, we didn’t have a wide choice of florists and I was left unimpressed by the town's main florist who wanted to charge for a second appointment to make her time worthwhile! So I decided to go fake! Sarah's Flowers have a huge range of flowers and they were around the same price as real flowers. My bouquet is going to be placed on my Nan's grave, and my sisters are keeping theirs, so I like the fact they were artificial.

Who was your photographer and how did you choose them?
I found Sarah Janes Photography through a picture in the brochure of our wedding venue. They had used one of her sepia images of a bride and groom in the rain and I thought 'if she can take a picture like that on a rainy day, imagine how beautiful the pictures could be if the sun is shining!' so I'm only slightly ashamed to say that I gazumped another bride who had put in an enquiry for our date and booked her after meeting with her over coffee! I just loved her natural approach to wedding photography.
I must also mention the fabulous Mandy Rigby who did my make up on the day. Mandy and Sarah are my dream team as they’ve worked together before and really know what looks good on camera. I’d recommend them both to anyone!

Did you enjoy planning your wedding?
Absolutely! I'd be lying if I said it wasn't stressful at times, but seeing everything come together on the day was the best feeling ever! I've was so proud of everyone involved. My husband was great - if I ever started stressing about things not matching or my massive to do list, he'd point out that it didn’t actually matter if the napkins didn't match the petals on the tables…I still know he’s wrong about that but it did help to put it all in to perspective!

We had an afterparty the next day at my Dad's cottage, so that was a great chance to catch up again before we headed off to Mexico for our honeymoon and everyone headed back home – if anyone has the chance to do this, I'd totally recommend an afterparty!

Did you have any DIY projects?
I loved the DIY projects and my bridesmaids threw themselves into the DIY as well. We had homemade pew ends for the church pews, charms with our initials around the champagne glasses, handmade place cards and I wrote a memory I had of each guest inside to get the nostalgia flowing – cheap and cheerful! We also made moustaches on sticks, and we asked our guests to make a ten minute iPod playlist to be played during dinner. I also made a sign saying 'Thank you' so we could use that photo of us with it for our thank you cards. I put together photo board collages of every single guest at the wedding for all to laugh at and I also fashioned our table seating plan out of sticks from the garden, fairy lights and table cards to hang from the sticks – DIY-a-rama!

Who designed your stationery? What did it look like and how did you come to that decision?
My Dad, my maid of honour and I worked on it together! I’d seen plenty of ideas, but my Dad does this for a living so there's no one else I trusted more to design our stationery.

What advice do you have for brides planning their big day?
My main piece of advice is - don’t forget about the actual wedding ceremony! We had a church service and once I started choosing hymns and readings, I realised that I was really excited about the service. I'd also say, don't be afraid to both defy tradition, and embrace it, all on the same day! We couldn't figure out a way to incorporate both sets of divorced parents and new spouses, so we just had a sweetheart table for just the two of us and put our parents on an unofficial top table; it was a great way to make sure we actually talked to each other during the day and the speeches were carried out around us on different tables. I loved the whole day and want to relive it all over again!

To finish, my top tips based on my day would be:
1. If possible, give your Dad (or whoever gives you away) a kiss when you reach the top of the aisle.
2. Brides – do a speech! You'll always wonder if you should have afterwards! I did, and I loved it.
3. Have someone, anyone, video the speeches. They don't have to be a pro, but it's something I really wish I'd arranged.

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Sample Sales

Wedding dresses can be a huge part of your budget if you pay full price. Luckily there are lots of sample sales each year in London and around the UK. Do a good search on google, and keep an eye out on the wedding blogs. Also recommended is Sales Gossip, a fab website with all the latest sample sales including wedding sales. Plus if you sign up for my free newsletter or follow me on Twitter, you won't miss a single sale - hint hint! If you're worrying about the cost of your wedding day look, take a look at my blog post on how to buy your wedding dress for less.

♥  In exceedingly exciting news, one of my favourite designers, Vera Wang is hosting a one-day-only winter sale at Browns in London. With {wait for it} up to 70% off her beautiful handmade gowns, this is definitely one for your diary. Prices start at £1,000. Pencil in Sunday, 29th November 2015 - no appointments needed

♥ Prepare yourself ladies, there's a Phillipa Lepley Winter Sample Sale coming soon! She's a favourite of celebs like Geri Halliwell, so it's no wonder her gowns are selling like hotcakes. This might be your last chance before your wedding day to get up to 70% off, so be sure to make a booking right now! Sale starts on Saturday 12th December until all sale dresses are sold. Appointments are £30 for weekdays and £50 for Saturdays, taken at the time of booking and redeemable against a purchase. To book call 0207 590 9771.

♥ One of my favourite online bridal shops of all time is BHLDN, so I'm super excited to tell you all about their Wedding Dress Sale, which has just started. It includes massive discounts off their wedding dresses, bridesmaids gowns, accessories and wedding details, and you'll want to get clicking right away! ♥

♥ One of the best wedding magazines in the world, Brides is hosting an amazing wedding dress sample sale every year, and I'm pleased to announce it's on 25th January 2016. This one-day-only event is held at the veeeeery classy Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park in London's Knightsbridge. With massive 70% discounts on wedding dresses, accessories, shoes and bridesmaid outfits, too, you're bound to find some serious bargains! Big names involved include Caroline Castigliano, Freya Rose, Maids To Measure, Twobirds Bridesmaid and more. Book your tickets here ♥

Here are some lovely links to what we do best here on Before the Big Day

Real Weddings - we're talking hundreds of pictures and pages of inspiration

DIY Bride - DIY wedding projects of the crafty or hoping-to-be-crafty amongst you

Wedding Themes - the first rule of planning a wedding, pick a theme!

Wedding Advice - helpful hints and tips if you're feeling freaked

Before the Big Day Black Book - our favourite vendors and a work in progress

Our Free Newsletter - get the best of Before the Big Day before anyone else, for free!

Follow Me on Twitter - umm....self explanatory?

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