I do take U!

Recession Proof your Outfit!

2009-07-16T01:31:00.000-07:00

Spending thousands of pounds on your wedding dress? There really is no need, my whole outfit cost £100 and although this is not everyones style it was perfect for me and my tendency towards vintage style.

My dress was second hand from the high street shop Monsoon, which I bought from Ebay for £40. My shoes were from Debenhams and were £18, my shrug was again monsoon/ebay £15 and I made my veil, (I will show you how in an upcoming tutorial).

So what options are out there for you to get your perfect wedding dress at a fraction of the cost?

Well I would say there are three main options:

1) The High Street

2) Second Hand, Ebay

3) Vintage

4) Sew your own.

The high street:
The high st has some great options for low cost and stylish wedding dresses, heres a few I've picked out but there are lots more out there!

Strapless

Eloise side wrap beaded satin wedding dress
by BHS
£250

lovely A line skirt and strapless bodice dress, simple and elegant.

Historical

Tulle dress with diamante brooch

by Elizabeth Emanuel for BHS
£495

A bit more expensive than other high st dresses out there, but I love it reminds me of a costume drama set in the 18th Century.

Retro

Autograph Occasions Jaquard Wedding Dress & Bolero Set
by Marks and Spencer
£125

Love this 1960's style dress, it reminds me of my mums wedding outfit, so cute!

Second Hand/Ebay:

As you know I bought my dress from ebay and loads of great outfits can be found on there. There are also lots of great sites with former brides selling there wedding dresses and have therefore only been worn once and are a fraction of the original retail price.

http://www.sellmyweddingdress.co.uk/database/form_selection.html
http://www.preloved.co.uk/fuseaction-adverts.listadverts/sec-Home+and+Family/cat-Marriage/subcat-Wedding+Clothes+and+Bridal+Wear/5395f0ac.html

You can also try the charity shops who often have great wedding dress bargains to be found. Oxfam in particular has 10 dedicated wedding departments throughout the country;
http://www.oxfam.org.uk/shop/results.aspx?catalog=HighStDonated&category=ClothesandAccessories_Bridal

Vintage

Again ebay has great vintage wedding dresses available but there are also dedicated vintage bridal shops online with everything from Victorian wedding gowns to retro sixties shifts.

http://www.thevintageweddingdresscompany.com/
http://www.vintagedress.co.uk/wedding.html
http://www.poshgirlvintage.com/

Sew Your Own

If you are a confident seamstress or have a friend or family member who is then why not sew your own, there are some great patterns out there;

Vogue $16.50

http://www.voguepatterns.com/list/evening_bridal_includes_designer/page-2.htm

Burda £6.85

http://www.burdafashion.com/en/Patterns/Main_Collection/8057_Wedding_dress/1270778-1128998-1005430-1314310.html

Butterick £7.50

http://www.sewdirect.com/acatalog/Sewing_Patterns___Bridal_Gowns.html

Hope this post as helped a little bit for all you out there that are looking for the perfect wedding dress on a budget. Remember, small price does not always mean poor style or quality, as ever it is about shopping around and finding what is right for you.

Finally Better!

2009-07-16T01:29:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Sorry for not blogging for over a month, was poorly sick and has took me ages to get back up to speed. However, just to let you know that I will now be more regular with my blogging so please do keep following, for great wedding tips and tutorials!

Poorly Sick!

2009-06-04T02:18:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Quick apology to any readers out there, I have been poorly sick this week and therefore am well behind on my blogging, but stay tuned, I will be back up to speed soon!

Ann x

Recession Proof Your Wedding Outfit!

2009-06-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

I thought this week it might be nice to give some people some ideas of how to have a stunning outfit without paying an astronomical price!

The pic is of me on my wedding day, and my outfit was perfect for me, slightly vintage, fairly simple and comfy. I recognise everyone won't have the same taste as me, but you can create the style you want and still save pennies.

So look out for this weeks posts on putting together the perfect outfit for the perfect price!

Ann x

Fabric Flowers Tutorial

2009-05-28T01:05:00.000-07:00

You will need:

6 x 5" squares of contrasting fabrics (cotton, polycotton, nothing too heavy)
Cotton Thread
Buttons
Scissors

Step 1
Cut 6 x 5" squares of contrasting fabrics

Step 2
Find the centre point of the fabric and sew a small cross in the centre.

Step 3:
Starting with the top layer (right side up) cut a small circle around the centre of the fabric

Step 4:
With each layer of fabric cut out a slightly larger circle.

Step 5:
When you have finished cutting it should look like this!!

Step 6:
Now starting from the top, take two layers of fabric and sew together with loose basting stitches near to the centre of the fabric. Pull the stitches together so the circles become ruffled and flower like.

Step 7:
Repeat with the other two layers until your flower looks like this!

Step 8:
Bring the needle up through the centre of the fabric and then attach a button to the centre. Thats it your done, you have a pretty fabric flower.

Finish:
Why not join six flowers together and make this delightful bouquet? Just feed some floral wire through the bottom of the flower, join 6 together using floral tape and then wrap with ribbon.

Thanks for viewing my first ever tutorial, I hope you've enjoyed it!

Its arrived Fabric Flower Tutorial!

2009-05-28T00:59:00.000-07:00

Hi all I know its a day late but couldn't figure out how to post the tutorial as its my first try! Anyway here is a simple and effective technique to make lovely fabric flowers, they can be made into a bouquet, a boutonniere, a corsage and a variety of uses. Anyway enough of my waffle, here is the tute:

First Fabric Flowers tutorial in Progress

2009-05-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

I am very excited as I have been working on my first tutorial, how to make flowers from fabric scraps! They are really easy to make and look simply stunning. So check back Wednesday (25th May) and be the first to try out some of these great flowers!

Ann x

Welcome

2009-05-21T04:14:00.001-07:00

Hello and Welcome to Idotakeu Blog spot. October 2009, I married my wonderful husband, we had a tiny budget and couldn't afford any of things recommended by the bridal magazines or wedding books and furthermore they weren't indivualistic enough for us, so I set about crafting for my wedding.

I created everything from the invitations to the bridal accessories, bridal party gifts, favors and church and reception decorations. I wanted to share with others about having a low cost, high style, customised wedding with hints and tips, tutorials and links.

Of course if you do not have the time to craft everything you can always go straight to my etsy shop, www.idotakeu.etsy.com and buy something individual and handmade for your big day.

Many Thanks Ann x