Budget Brides: Websites that will become your best friends!

There are a few simple ways to cut your costs of your wedding day, but sometimes shopping around really can find you some brilliant bargains.

If you're happy with second hand items, you can always pick up your dream dress on websites like:

www.ebay.co.uk - an auction-based website where you can bid on dresses that have been worn once. Believe it or not, I saw a perfectly good wedding dress go for £25!

Pinterest.com - think of it as many inspiring mood boards and ideas that comes equipped with a handy search engine!

etsy.com - a shopping website, similar to eBay with many different sellers and items, but with a fixed price. The items are usually handmade, so are usually lovely and unique.

www.preloved.co.uk - a website dedicated to items previously 'loved', hence the name.

www.sellyourweddingdress.co.uk - a swap/sell wedding dress website designed to help you find your dream wedding dress for, in most instances, half the price in the shops.

You can always dry clean the dress if it hasn't been already (many brides do this after their wedding day anyway) and get a seamstress to measure and cut it to your height and body shape.

Make sure you check out wedding forums too, I found so many inspiring ideas and questions I had were answered often from forums.

Be wary of international sellers, I can't vouch for all of them, as I am sure some of them are very reputable but I have heard many horror stories to do with the quality of the fabric, the photos portayed aren't the same as when the dress comes (- some even steal designers photos and use them as their own!), some have had extortionate international courier charges once the dress arrives, and much more that I have heard. If you know of any good international sellers, please feel free to leave a link and tell us about your experience.