Wedding Tips start here...

fiobee

emma_b wrote:

i like the idea of getting a dress for a bargain off ebay but how do you do that?! how do you know what it will look like and itll fit??

im 12 weeks preg at the moment and wanting to get my dress ASAP as ive only got 8mth after the birth till the big day (nothing like a bit of pressure!) so then i will aim to get back down to the size i am now and hopefully look okay (im size 12 and 10st).

There are a lot of Far East and other tailors on eBay - just search for wedding dresses and anything that says "custom made" or "10/12/14/16/18" will be a listing for a made-to-measure dress. They typically have several photos of different angles, so you can see what the dress looks like on the dummy. You will have to wait till after the birth though, so you can get measured up properly (your OH can easily do that - make sure you're wearing underwear and heels). Do not use the size charts - every seller seems to provide one as a guide but the sizes are always wrong.

The prices vary, depending on the seller; the dresses are cheap but the shipping, as to be expected, is quite expensive. It takes about a couple of weeks to make up the dress plus about another week for shipping, excluding any holidays (eg Chinese new year is around February). There is a chance you may have to pay customs/import duty depending on the value on the customs label.

If you haven't shopped on eBay before, pop over to the eBay board for tips. Basically, always check the seller's feedback so you know they are reputable - it should be close to 100%. One or two negs are okay - just read the comments to make sure. (I've seen some buyers neg because the size is wrong! If it's a made-to-measure dress, the size can only be wrong because you gave the tailor the wrong measurements!)

emma_b_4

if i get a dress off ebay i will wait till after the birth, if i get one from a shop i will have to do it before as they have all said it takes ages to get here and they can alter it anyway afterwards, many do free alterations. im thinking of trying dresses on in the shops and then looking for a similar one on ebay, is that what other brides have done??

Becles

I bought my wedding dress off an ebay shop. The lady runs a real dress shop somewhere, and sells all her old stock, samples etc., on ebay.

My dress is an old design which has been discontinued and she only had the one left in my size. I don't care if it's from a couple of seasons ago as I adore it. Let's face it - how many guests will follow wedding dress fashions and will know it's a previous season dress?
My dress was brand new with tags on, and I got it at less than a quarter of the UK RRP. I have seen the same dress for sale for much more on an American dress website - bargain!

gixxerchick_2

I got my dress off ebay too!!!
Mine is an ex-sample, 2 piece corset style. I nearly fell off my chair when i saw how much it was- a complete bargain, cost well under £100 and there is not a thing wrong with it, believe me i've looked!!! lol
I was going to order a dress of one of ebay's shops overseas, it wouldv'e cost me double what i paid and the dress i got is actually a lot nicer than the one overseas.

I got my shoes and tiara off ebay too as well as son's suit.

zonecrew

thanks for the replies!

Callisto

We were supposed to be getting married next summer, but it's not looking very promising considering we have a budget of £6000 (5k for wedding and 1k for honeymoon) and have only managed to save £520 ish so far. :mad: However we're skint and will continue to be so until I return to work, although I do have a job interview on Tuesday, so fingers crossed for that. I've put the wedding savings total in my sig, but it's only rising at the moment due to Ebay or Amazon sales or interest! Really hoping I get that job or ANY job (with an ok salary) this month.

I'm not willing to wait any longer than summer 2008 though! If we don't have enough money saved by then, then we will either postpone the honeymoon or have to stick the remaining balance on a 0% card. I know it's wrong and completely anti-MSE but by then we will have been engaged for 3 1/2 years and together for 11 years, so I will be sick of waiting by then!

OH doesn't want a registry office wedding, so we are looking for a country house/castle/unusual civil venue so that we can have the ceremony and reception at the same place. The venue is looking to be the biggest cost, but we are cutting down in other areas - having an M&S cake (works out at about £70 compared to 'professional' quotes of £200 plus), no DJ (putting a selection of tracks on an mp3 player), making own invitations, no vintage car (won't be needed if we'll be at one venue all day), making own tiara and jewellery and Mum knows someone who will do the photography.

My parents have offered to pay for the bridesmaids dresses for my sisters, everything else we will pay for ourselves.

del_boy_

married two years ago. cost 15k

MissSunshine

Married nearly 6 years, never did sit down and work out total cost :eek: , but we didn't get into debt. We had a civil ceremony at a castle, then onto a hotel for the reception and evening do. Both parents were adament that they should contribute so mine paid for the reception and evening food and ils paid for the reception alcohol :beer: Also mine booked and paid for the car, but only because I was insistant i wanted a lorry
I also hired my dress, it was brand new and included alterations for £500, to buy it would've been £1000 and as I'd never wear it again, nor make back the difference if I sold it so thought it was a fab idea

Emms

Were getting married next May and are looking after the budget very carefully. Ive got spreadsheets and everything. Im very organised

Were having a civil ceremony in a hotel, sit down meal for 30 people and evening reception for about 80 people. Our extravagence is hiring a chocolate fountain at total cost of £375 for enough chococlate and dips for 150 people and a person to stand and look after it all night. Were making this part of our buffet so were having a cheap buffet option. Tea sarnies and sausage rolls for £5.50/head. Would have had prob £10/head to include some sweet stuff if we hadnt been hiring the fountain.

Our rings are being bought with tesco clubcard deals vouchers in goldsmiths. Havent decided if we can afford a honeymoon yet or not but im sure we will find something cheap and cheerful. Were getting a cake made for £100 by someone my other halfs mum knows. Trying to get a photographer sorted is the next task. Ive emailed some amatuer ones for quotes as wedding photographers cost a fortune and I only want a few pics.

Getting wedding invites, favour boxes and room decorations etc from ebay, and hopefully the flowers too as Ive seen some lovely hand made ones on there. Making our own save the date cards to send out just now. Bought blank fridge magnets on ebay and were going to print off the cards ourself. Can you tell I use ebay quite a bit Might even get my dress off there if I can find one thats long enough as im too bloody tall and all the nices ones ive found arent long enough, and were off shopping tomorrow to try and find a kilt for other half.

Were hoping to keep it all under 3k, not including honeymoon.

I think ive covered most of it!

Emma

Emms

8pnoodles wrote:

Getting married this year and we're saving up for my wedding ring with clubcard points. You can convert them to deals and the points are worth 4x as much.

.

Were buying our rings the same way. If you dont already have one I would suggest you get a Tesco Credit Card as you get extra clubcard points every time you use it. We buy everything with it, even the £500 deposit for the hotel were getting married in, and pay it off straight away. Weve earned loads of extra points this way.

Emma