Bridal shop owner does her bit for charity
Bridal shop owner collecting dresses for charity
Bridal shop owner Becky Murtagh, who runs Nancy Jane Bridal in Stretford, is doing her bit for charity by collecting used bridal gowns for local charity, St Ann’s Hospice.
The hospice has its own specialist bridal store in Cheadle where it raises money through selling second hand wedding gowns. Bridal shop owner Becky has been helping out the charity store by collecting the dresses, cleaning, and running repairs on them if needed, in order for the charity to sell them on and raise much needed funds.
Becky even made the ultimate sacrifice herself and donated her own wedding dress, which she wore to tie the knot with husband Mark three years ago. The mother of two admitted it was a tough decision to make, as such a garment holds great sentimental value, but conceded she’d never wear it again, so it was right to pass it on.
As well as bridal dresses, the charity also collects other items such as groom and page boy suits, bridesmaid and flower girl dresses, and even accessories such as tiaras, shoes and handbags. Becky says she’s even encouraged her own bridesmaids to give up their dresses for the St Ann’s Hospice.
29-year-old Becky has been donating second hand wedding dresses to St Ann’s Hospice since she set up her business in 2007. The charity say they are very grateful for the work Becky puts in, and know they can always rely on dresses arriving from her in immaculate condition.
Bubble-wrap wedding dress for eco bride
Newlywed Rachel says she'd recommend the bubble-wrap wedding dress to any bride-to-be
Eco conscious bride Rachel Robinson thought a traditional white wedding gown was a waste of money, so instead decided to take a radical approach to her dress for the big day. Forget silk, chiffon and taffeta, this bride opted for bubble wrap as her material of choice for her gown, more commonly used for packing parcels rather than walking down the aisle in.
The primary school teacher enlisted the help of her pupils and their parents to make the special dress which was originally used as part of a school fashion show under the theme of sustainable style.
The alternative dress was made by sewing 13 feet of bubble wrap onto a fabric base. A 3 foot train was created with overlapping layers of Haribo sweet packaging, and also white packing materials.
The sounds of the bridal march were interrupted by the pops from the bubble wrap as the bride walked down the aisle, although she explained that she was grateful for the pop-able material when she reached the alter as she had something to grab hold of to take the edge off her nerves.
The newlywed says she would recommend the bubble-wrap dress to any bride-to-be saying that as an individual who is passionate about the environment and wildlife, the eco-dress was the right choice of bridal wear for her.
Re-usable wedding dresses feature as part of fashion students’ exhibition
A collection of wedding dresses which can be broken down into new garments has gone on display in Sheffield
A group of student fashion designers at Sheffield Hallam University have been working in-conjunction with engineering students to create a wedding dress which can be broken down and used as 5 other garments.
The idea behind the dress is to challenge society’s addiction to throwaway fashion. As the most symbolic garment a woman will ever own, and also likely to be one of the most expensive items of clothing she will ever buy, it was deemed the ideal example for use in the exhibition.
The seams holding the wedding dresses together have been designed to dissolve when they come into contact to water. The different pieces can then be broken down and used to make another garment. The different stages of the transformation process from fully functioning wedding dress, to new garment are on display as part of the exhibition.
The wedding dresses combine fashion and technology and explore the possibility of using alternative materials for dress making. Textile waste is one of the fastest growing waste groups in the UK and the fashion students hope that their exhibition will make people think about the impact disposable fashion is having on the environment.
The re-useable wedding dress exhibition, A Sustainable Marriage, is on display at the Furnival Building at Arundel Gate.
Bride bags £700 dress for 99p on EBay
The new Mrs Mapletoft with her 99p wedding dress
Bride-to-be Natalie Bellamy made the mistake of falling in love with a £700 dress in her local wedding shop. Although it was beyond doubt, her dream dress, it was also way beyond her budget.
Undeterred in her quest to have the perfect wedding dress, the inventive 30-year old from Somerset turned to EBay to seek out an affordable alternative, and she certainly succeeded. After coming across a wedding tailoring service in Hong Kong and finding a near identical dress, Natalie sent her measurements to the overseas company who set to work on creating her dream dress on the cheap.
After just three weeks, the dress arrived. The overall price of the dress did rise to £87 after adding in the cost of shipping and alterations, but was still an absolute bargain. It also meant the bride saved herself a whopping £613 by opting for the EBay dress as opposed to the original gown from the local shop. The new Mrs Mapletoft said her husband said she looked “absolutely gorgeous” as she walked up the aisle, not bad for a 99p frock.
The mother-of-two revealed she did have her doubts over the scheme to begin with, “I didn’t know what to expect but it fitted perfectly and all the sequins had been hand-sewn. The quality was amazing. My friends couldn’t believe it only cost 99p, they all said I looked stunning.”
Following the success of her EBay dress, the frugal bride also utilised the online site to source other wedding articles such as invitations and decorations. They couple estimated they made an overall saving of £6,000 by shopping around and sniffing out a few bargains on the website.
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