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.