With the average cost of a wedding now standing at £27k in the UK (and over £38k in London!), the pressure to blow your life savings on the “best day of your life” is very real. Not only that, but it’s well-known that if you add the word “wedding” before anything, the price automatically soars.
However, there are signs that times are changing. Millennials are shunning traditional diamond engagement rings in favour of cheaper coloured stones and now, it seems, brides-to-be are also spending less on their wedding dresses than they once did. Hallelujah!
The average cost of a wedding dress is now £832, a 20% drop from last year, when the average spend was £1112, according to research by online fashion marketplace Lyst, reported in The Sun. That’s a substantial fall of £280.
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While over £800 is still an eye-watering amount to spend on an outfit most women will only wear once, it’s reassuring to learn that it’s becoming less normal to spend thousands on a piece of silk.
Women are still searching for dresses by pricey designers like Amanda Wakeley and Alice Temperley, but there’s also now huge demand for lower-cost brands such as Needle and Thread, Self Portrait and Whistles.
Lyst based its findings on search, sales and active browsing figures from its website and 12,000 partner brands. It also surveyed 100 brides-to-be, The Sun reported. The research suggests the explosion of high-street bridal collections could be behind the trend.
Topshop recently unveiled a lust-worthy debut bridal collection, with dresses ranging from £350-£795, and Whistles also launched its range recently, along with Asos. Other high-street brands, such as Missguided and Dorothy Perkins, have also released affordable collections of wedding dresses in recent times.
The trend towards affordability doesn’t extend to wedding shoes, however, with many women willing to spend almost the same amount on their shoes as their gown. A fifth of brides surveyed even said shoes were more important.
The most popular bridal shoes included the Manolo Blahniks worn by Carrie Bradshaw in Sex And The City, followed by Jimmy Choos or Sophia Websters.
And let’s not forget those all-important bridesmaids dresses, which many of us will be wearing during this summer’s wedding season. Monique Lhuillier and Zimmermann were the most popular designers, closely followed by the lower-cost Asos (phew!). Viva la high-street bridal revolution!