With the budget bridal business booming, high street wedding dresses are the second best proposal to say yes to this Spring

With £100 bridal gowns that look a million dollars, you can save your cash for the fizz
Emma McCarthy15 March 2016

For any soon-to-be bride, the small matter of what to wear on the big day is a process that involves hours of stress, endless phone calls and boatloads of cold, hard cash.

This is a fact as inevitable as your second cousin twice removed hitting the whisky too hard before you’ve even said your vows, or your fiancé’s uncle’s next-door neighbour’s dog turning up uninvited.

Of course there’s no time to worry about all that because we’re already in peak wedding shopping season. But for those searching for The One, there’s a new proposal on the table this spring - saying yes to the high street.

While it’s a suggestion guaranteed to strike fear into the hearts of overbearing mother-in-laws everywhere, the truth is that the budget bridal business is booming. But cast all thoughts of scratchy satin and badly fitting fishtails from your mind - the new ring of affordable options for white-gown wearers means that bargain no longer means basic.

Last week ASOS debuted its bridal boutique and - just like its bridesmaid offering which launched last summer - it’s selling like royal icing-frosted hot cakes.

ASOS bridal - the collection

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Among the most popular options in the 18-piece collection are an embellished Grecian-style gown and an elegant floor-length slip - the latter of which sold out over the weekend.

A caped ivory jumpsuit and selection of separates, including pearl-encrusted crop tops and tulle skirts, are also available for the bride who doesn’t do dresses, while a short-and-sweet lace mini dress should prove the perfect partner to a Hackney Town Hall sort of do.

“We were inspired by our customers, which is the same approach we take with everything we do,” says ASOS design director Vanessa Spencer. “Our designers have trawled vintage archives to find a bridal outfit for everyone.”

Crucially, the price tag is just as democratic, starting at as little as £65 and stretching to £250 for a full ivory gown at the top end of the budget.

“The price points are incredibly affordable,” adds Spencer, “which means you have the option of buying more than one dress and leaving more money to spend on the actual wedding.” Good news for those with their sights set on a honeymoon in the Bahamas.

But cost isn’t the only way brands such as ASOS are making the bridal market more accessible.

Moving the dreaded “occasionwear” category into far more contemporary territory was also a chief concern for Self-Portrait’s Han Chong.

Having already conquered the cocktail circuit with his well-priced and directional brand of eveningwear - Selfridges sells a Self-Portrait dress every six minutes - the Central Saint Martins-trained designer launched his first foray into bridal on Net-A-Porter last week.

His aim? To bring the same relaxed approach to bridalwear with a modern collection of dresses designed to be worn again and again, not just down the aisle.

“I felt there was a gap in the market for cool, understated gowns that still had the ability to feel feminine and timeless, as a wedding dress should,” says Chong. “I wanted to take the stress out of bridal-gown shopping and create a range where there is no need to visit specialist bridal boutiques.”

The collection, which Chong describes as “for the untraditional bride”, features many of Self-Portrait’s signatures, from the Victorian-inspired necklines to guipure laces that were developed by the designer and his team of 10 in their Hoxton studio, while the price point (between £650 to £1,000) is both attainable yet reassuringly expensive - a combination that has seen Net-A-Porter sell an impressive 130 Self-Portrait wedding dresses in under five days.

Other options for cost-conscious brides include Brit label Needle & Tread (above), which has recently launched a collection in collaboration with Net-A-Porter, offering intricately hand-beaded separates and frothy tulle gowns ranging between £115 to £850, while London label Ghost has long been a go-to for affordable and elegant bridal options around the £300 mark.

That should leave some spare change for the champagne fund.

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