Finding your wedding dress on a budget

I found my wedding dress by accident - before I had even met my future husband!

Most brides are not as lucky as this and will spend hours scouring Instagram for inspiration and visiting specialist Bridal shops, and not always finding exactly what they want. Yet, it is the one most important piece of clothing you will arguably buy, when all eyes are on you for the day, and quite rightly, you want to look stunning. Many couples are on a budget however, and it can also be difficult to justify the cost of the dress being the same price as the hire of the venue and all the food - and yes, be prepared for this!I found my beautiful pure silk dress on a second hand stall in Covent Garden antique market. It was crumpled and a bit grubby but the moment I saw it, I knew that it was the dress I would wear on my wedding day and at only £30 it was a price I could afford to lose.

Move the clock forward a few years, and lo and behold I was going to get married! I dutifully walked around dozens of shops and was just not happy with any dress I tried on - and then I remembered! The dress was dug out of my attic and yes, I still loved it. I then tracked down a fantastic dress maker who transformed the dress into my dream dress, by cleaning it, renewing the pearl buttons and making a net petticoat to wear underneath. She also re-fitted the dress to my shape so that it hung perfectly.

The total cost of my dress was several hundred and not several thousand pounds which did wonders for our tight budget.If you are losing the will to live, trying to find your perfect dress, or just can't find a dress that fits your budget, then it is worth looking in the antique markets for a vintage dress that can be up cycled to something beautiful. Charity shops also stock wedding dresses, and they have all only been worn once - it is amazing what you can find if you don't mind putting the time in. A good seamstress will be able to make your dress as good as new or even better and when all those eyes are on you, you can feel smug as well as beautiful, after all you have also tried to save the planet!