Dressing for a summer wedding on a budget
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Being invited to a friend´s wedding is great. You know you are practically guaranteed to have a fantastic day, and create some wonderful memories.
The only problem is that attending a wedding can be expensive. By the time you have bought a nice present, paid for petrol, accommodation (if it’s far away) and outfits, you can end up struggling with your finances! So, to help you with this here are some tips to help you to keep the costs of your outfits down.
How to cut costs when shopping for your wedding clothes:
Shop online
My first tip is to shop online. There is plenty of choice. For example, you can buy great dresses for weddings from Simply Be. They have a whole department dedicated to occassionwear, and also sell wedding and bridesmaid´s dresses. So, they are a great place to start your search for the perfect outfit. Shopping online enables you to quickly put together some outfit ideas and find what you need at the best price.
It is wise to start the shopping process early. Hopefully what you order will arrive promptly and fit you perfectly. However, occasionally you will need to send it back and buy a different size, or have it adjusted slightly. It makes sense to allow a couple of extra weeks to sort out any unforeseen issues.
Adapt what you already own
Before you go out shopping go through your wardrobe and double check to see what you already have. Try on different clothing combinations and see if you can put together the basis of a nice outfit. Sometimes you will have a nice summer dress that just needs a jacket and some new shoes to be turned into a glamorous wedding outfit.
If something does not quite fit, or the cut looks a bit dated, consider getting it adjusted by a tailor. Often this works out far cheaper than buying something new. Again, make sure you get this done a few weeks before the wedding.
Borrow from friends
Another option is to borrow an outfit from a friend or family member. Most people own glamorous clothes that they have only worn once or twice, which means that they still look fresh and new. Just be extra careful not to snag it or spill anything near it!
Consider buying a second hand outfit
It is also worth considering buying your outfit from a charity shop. People tend to wear a wedding guest outfit only once. They keep it for a year or two, thinking that they may wear it again, but end up not doing so. As a result, they end up giving their barely worn, sometimes designer, clothes to their local charity shop.
Swishing
Last on the list is swishing, which many of you know as clothes is swapping. There are still lots of parties held in the UK that are open for all to attend. You will need to take some quality clothes with you. If you do not already own this type of item consider buying some at the charity shop and taking those with you to the swishing event, so you can gain entry. Most of the time, you will be able to swap them for something you like.