Submitted by patfearn on
Well arrangements for my daughter Kelly's wedding are well under way so I thought I'd share with you some of our special finds.
We searched high and low for the right venue where everyone would feel relaxed and comfortable, especially the wedding party. With 11 months to go the venue has now been booked. It's going to be at Woolacombe Bay hotel in North Devon. They have a lovely ceremony room overlooking Woolacombe beach. The hotel grounds are lovely and along with the beach the whole venue is perfect for wedding photographs. The hotel staff couldn't be more helpful and are happy to work with any ideas we've had.
The photographer is also booked. We decided to go with someone local to the hotel so we chose Michael Wells Photography. He came highly recommended and his portfolio is impressive. Plus he knows all the best places to get the best photos. He advised Kelly to create a board on Pinterest and pin the photographs she liked. He could then follow the board and get an idea of the kind of things she and Ashley liked. A few weeks before the weddings they plan to meet and discuss a programme and timetable and have a pre wedding photo shoot on the beach.
Many wedding dresses have been viewed and tried on. In the end Kelly chose the very first dress she liked and saved the picture of. Typical girl!! Kelly was keen to prove that you don't have to spend thousands of pounds on dresses so we cheated. She found the style of dress that suited her in the wedding shops and then discovered that most of the dresses come from China. One simple beach wedding dress she liked cost £995 in the shops, but we found the exact same dress on JJShouse for£220. In the end her dress cost £180 and that included import duty.
We did exactly the same with the bridesmaid dresses. We took a day off work and made appointments at all of the local bridal shops. I have to say the range of dresses was pretty poor, especially in size 14 and upwards. Once we found a style that suited all of the girls we searched online and found the perfect dresses on tbdress at just £70 each including import duty. The dresses were cheap enough so she can have four bridesmaids without breaking the bank.
So you see, you don't have to spend a fortune but you do need to be careful. Shop around and don't buy a dress for the sake of it. If you are going to buy from a shop try on as many styles as you can in all different types of material. I remember Kelly trying one dress on and looking like a fifty year old opera singer. Most wedding shop appointments last for an hour but you'd be surprised at how many dresses you can try on in that time. Go to wedding dress sales and warehouses and then if you are confident enough, shop online and save yourself hundreds of pounds.
Remember to do your homework and check out the websites thoroughly. Don't believe all of the reviews on the company's own website. Companies like diydress.co.uk who are not UK based but are based in China, have been known to write their own reviews and most companies will not put a poor review on their own website so be careful. Go to websites like Review Centre to see real and truthful reviews.
Next time I'll tell you more about the wedding theme, save the dates and invites plus a new website perfect for slightly unusual wedding presents for the home called Rooma
Happy wedding shopping xx