Guest Post Archives - The Budget Bride Company

Five tips for buying a budget wedding dress from wedding dress sample sale.com

19/11/2015/in Budget Advice, Budget Beautiful Wedding Suppliers, Budget Wedding Dress Ideas, Guest Post, Supplier Spotlight /by laura

I’m delighted to welcome the gorgeous weddingdresssamplesale.com to the Budget Bride Company. Specialising in beautiful wedding dresses that are available either as part of boutique sample sales or pre-loved by brides who would like to sell their gowns on, weddingdresssamplesale.com is a fantastic one stop shop for finding the perfect wedding dress on the budget that you have available.
You can find weddingdresssamplesale.com listed in our directory in all UK regions here. I’m now going to hand you over to the site’s founder, Sarah, who is going to let us in on some tips for buying a budget wedding dress.

Champagne tastes on a lemonade budget? The average UK wedding dress costs a whopping £1,746, so it’s not surprising that savvy brides are looking for affordable options.
Wedding Dress Sample Sale has helped hundreds of brides find their perfect designer dress without breaking the budget.Here are my 5 top tips for budget dress success.

1. Know your samples from your counterfeit
Sample, preowned and high street gowns are all better options than counterfeit.
Sample gowns are dresses that have been tried on in bridal shops. They are often in good condition and will not have been previously altered. Expect 50% or more off of retail price. You can track down sample sales at Wedding Dress Sample Sale.
Preowned dresses are dresses that have been worn once by brides on their wedding day. Be sure to check if the dress has been altered or needs a clean and factor that into your budget.
The high street offer some lovely budget options, usually relaxed column or vintage styles. BHS and Monsoon are always worth a look.
Counterfeit dresses are ‘made to measure’ dresses that come directly from a factory, often in China.
Be careful if you are looking on eBay. The dress you see in the picture may not be the one you end up with.
There are loads of horror stories out there, and very few brides get their money back. You don’t want to end up buying twice.

2. Don’t just look online
Online can point you in the right direction, but there are plenty of bargains that never get listed.
Bridal boutiques hold regular on premises sales, so if you see something in the window of your local boutique that’s a bit out of your price range, ask them when they’re having their next sample sale.
Wedding fairs are another great place to find discount gowns. Boutiques and designers will often bring their samples to shows to sell them quickly.
Some of the best UK fairs include Budget Bride Live, Chosen Wedding Fair, Vintage Wedding Fayre and the National Wedding Show.

3. Try before you buy
There is no substitute for trying on a wedding dress.
We don’t wear long dresses every day (well, apart from the odd summer maxi) so it’s hard to imagine what your dress will look like until you’re wearing it.
To make it even more confusing, bridal sizes usually come up smaller than the high street, and vary between designers so a size 14 in one designer might be a high street size 12.
Bridal boutiques are happy for you to come and try sample dresses. They may even offer a returns policy, allowing you to buy online, try the dress at home and return it if it doesn’t fit. Speak to your boutique to find out more.

4. Check for faults before you hand over the cash.
Sample and preowned dresses will come in the sizes they are listed in and once they’re gone, they’re gone!
It’s natural to want to move fast, but do take the time to check the dress over.
Sample gowns are ‘sold as seen’ so if you discover a fault once you’ve taken it home you won’t be able to return it.
I’ve sold hundreds of sample dresses and the majority are in excellent condition. Dust on the hem or small make up marks inside the bodice are to be expected, and can be easily cleaned.
If you are unlucky enough to run into fake tan, faded sequins or large tears then it’s not a bargain after all.

5. Don’t be afraid to negotiate
It never hurts to ask ‘is that your best price?’ The seller can always say no after all.
If a seller can’t take money off of the price of the dress, they may be able to throw in free delivery.
Remember to pay safely, using PayPal for online purchases and cash or debit / credit card for in person payments. Avoid cheques and bank transfers.

I hope you found this blog post helpful. We’ve got lots more advice in our free eBook ‘How to buy your Wedding Dress’ - download it today.

Thank you so much for your advice Sarah! Head to weddingdresssamplesale.com to browse through the options for you today.

Laura xx

A beautiful diamond engagement ring without the extravagant price tag

01/07/2014/in Budget Beautiful Wedding Suppliers, Deals and Offers, Engagement, Guest Post /by laura

Weddings can be expensive, so for you budget savvy couples out there finding good quality wedding suppliers that don’t charge the earth, is key.

First stop is the diamond engagement ring - the icing on the cake of many a romantic proposal – and the item everyone wants to see once you have made the big announcement!

Rather than heading to the high street, there are lots of good offers to be had online for those looking for a diamond engagement ring.

Bigger Diamonds 4 Less is an online diamond jewellery specialist that offers some of the lowest priced diamonds around.

Whilst the diamond rings they sell are some of the cheapest around, the quality of their products and the service they provide is far from budget.

Bigger Diamonds 4 Less offer all customers a 14 day ‘no quibble’ money back guarantee, independently certified diamonds, free re-sizing and free insured delivery. And on top of this, all of their diamonds are hand selected so quality is guaranteed and all diamonds are sourced through ethical suppliers.

Solitaire 18ct White Gold 1ct Diamond Engagement Ring
Genuine price comparison July 2013

Mappin & Webb
Regent Street

Ernest Jones
Oxford Street

Our Price

£9950.00

Untreated

£9999.00

Untreated

£2695.00

VIEW DEAL

Check them out online to view their latest deals or for general information on choosing the perfect diamond.

At the moment you can also enter their competition to win a pair of diamond earrings worth over £1,000.

Fill in the entry form online by 30 November and a winner will be drawn on 10th December – just in time for Christmas. Good luck!

Laura xx

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Not engaged yet? Tips to bring on the ring!

24/06/2014/in Engagement, Guest Post /by laura

If you have been waiting in vain for months or years for your partner to propose to you, then it may well be time to do something about it, and whether you choose to take the very modern initiative of proposing yourself or choose to gently coax your beau into popping the question, simply letting them know that you might be ready for them to put a ring on it may well be enough to ensure that wedding bells are chiming before you know it.

So, if you want to keep things traditional and you long for your other half to propose, what is the best way to get them down on bended knee?

Talk it through

One of the easiest ways to get your beau to propose is to simply let them know you would be ready for it. They may never have even thought about it or may have been holding back simply because they were scared that you may say no, so by actually talking it through, you may spur them into action. It is wise not to be too forceful and instead simply let them know it is something that appeals to you - after all, if your other half is ‘not there yet’, you don’t want to risk them running a mile.

Don’t push your other half

If your partner is not ready for marriage, do not push them into it or give them an ultimatum. It will almost always backfire and, furthermore, do you really want to get married if they don’t want to? Such misgivings will mar your big day, so if waiting a little while will ensure they are fully committed to the venture and totally at ease, it will make your entire wedding far more enjoyable for all parties. If your beau isn’t ready, it doesn’t mean they don’t love you - they may just not be in the right place in their life.

Drop hints

You don’t have to go all out and tell your partner you would like them to propose if you would rather the impetus came from them. Start casually mentioning marriage or start looking at diamond rings online and saying how much you would love such a ring. By choosing to look on sites such as Marlows that specialise in wedding and engagement rings, you may be able to say everything you want to without saying anything at all - and without piling the pressure on.

Be the person they want to marry

Whilst you won’t want to change yourself just to get your other half to propose, being the best version of you will help them to see what you have as a couple and ensure they really want to keep it. Spend quality time together and talk about the future so that they know that you want them to be there, and to ensure your beau wants to be there too. Look after them and care for them in a way that shows them you are the perfect match together.

Spend time with married couples

Spending time with married couples will help your other half to see all the benefits of married life. By spending time with other couples, they may also see that tying the knot doesn’t mean they will have to say goodbye to a social life, and this may well put them far more at ease and make the idea of marriage more appealing.

Meet the family

Spending more time with each other’s relatives will help you each feel like part of the family and will in turn make the process of getting married seem like less of a leap. Your beau will already feel as though the two of you are part of something bigger than yourselves and this will in turn make marriage seem like an obvious next step.

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