The Rise of the Budget Brides
15:28
Due
to the rise of the high street H&M wedding dress, Rosie Moorhouse asks if
women prefer expensive frills and sparkle or a basic budget drape.
It’s mid afternoon and the curtain shuts for
the last time (I hope) while my friend, who is a bride-to-be next summer, tries
on another wedding dress in the third shop we’ve been in. Lace sleeves, ribbon
corsets and intricate detailing surround me and before long I hear the familiar
cry, “I’m not sure if this one suits me!”
We’re in Debenhams trying on their collection
of wedding dresses. Despite the huge amount of fuss covering the £60 H&M
wedding dress, believe it or not, they aren’t the only high street brand to
sell wedding gear. We visit Monsoon during our shopping trip; they not only
have bridal wear, but also flower girl dresses, pageboy suits and a variety of
bridal accessories such as shoes and veils. Although, these dresses, unlike the
H&M dress, don’t come cheap with the lowest price being £229.
With summer fast approaching and the National
Wedding Show just around the corner, brides-to-be everywhere are in full swing
to find their dream gown. Instead of looking at thousand pound dresses, brides
can now spend less as weddings have hit the high street. Due to the high street
collections, budget brides can now spend a small price on their dress in
comparison to the £1,200 average price that they paid in 2013.
The H&M wedding dress is the perfect
frock for any bride on a budget but the question is: would you buy it? The
average wedding costs £22,858 and a staggering 35% of brides would consider
having cosmetic surgery for their wedding, so it comes as a shock that some
people are ecstatic about the new money saving gown. Bride-to-be, Laura
Summerill, 28, from Newcastle, claims, “I don’t need to spend a lot on my
wedding dress, and my day will be perfect if we pick the right location, and as
long as all of my family are there to celebrate with me, then I will be happy.
The H&M dress is amazing, I could wear it on my big day and know I look
good but yet I don’t have to worry if I ruin it because it only cost £60.”
Moving away from high-street, the new era of
budget dresses may have an impact on the traditional way of buying a wedding
dress; through establish bridal boutiques which never produce the exact same
dress but also have a larger price tag. The owner of Berketex Bride boutique,
which has been established for over 50 years, says, “What boutiques do is very
different from the high street. The H&M dress is a very particular look and
I can guarantee that we probably don’t sell anything similar to it because
wedding dresses can vary greatly. I think it’s all down to individual
preference on the appearance, I don’t think the price tag is a huge matter as
long as you love the dress.”
High-street gowns may not affect bridal
boutiques as much as first thought, although if the variety of high-street
styles starts to increase, there may be a bigger rise in budget brides.
Bride-to-be Natalie Wharton, claims, “Some brides agree there’ll always be
boutiques. I know a lot of people that would love a bargain wedding dress but I
would never dream of shopping on the high street. The tradition is going to a
bridal boutique; you wear the dress to celebrate the happiest day of your
adulthood, so your dress needs to be something to remember. The high-street is
not good enough for the biggest day of your life!”
High street dresses, so far, have far less
detailing compared to boutique dresses. The material appears to be far less
rich with many of them being made from polyester, and the biggest difference
between high street and boutiques is the sizes are standard, not made to
measure. This means that there is fear of baggy fabric and bumps in all the
wrong places. Hardly marriage material, is it?
On the other hand, the budget dresses look beautiful
at first glance, and the price tag really is a bargain in comparison to
traditional dresses. But whether you decide to bargain buy or splash out, the H&M
gown is bound to be making an appearance at many big days this summer.
0 comments