Wedding dress for under a quid?

I started dreaming about my wedding dress before I even considered where I would find a groom. As a young girl I knew that the main focus point of my big day would be my fabulous wedding dress and I would not spare any expense to ensure I look like a princess when I walk down the aisle.

Fast-forward a couple of decades and we're in the throes of a recession, with brides-to-be having to budget more than ever before and reign in some of their lavish plans.

So I was intrigued when I spotted a picture in a newspaper of a bride wearing a stunning wedding dress - and read that she paid only 99p for it on eBay. Apparently Suzanne Daniel couldn't believe her luck when her 99p bid won and the wedding dress was shipped from China (the total came to £86 with postage and insurance).

"It was just I didn't want to spend a fortune on the wedding because it's more about the marriage," said the PE teacher from Coniston. Of course I agree with her that the marriage is more important than a wedding, but I couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for her too.

I think one of the best bits of wedding planning is shopping for your wedding dress. There's nothing quite like rounding up your mum, sister or friend (or all of them) and trying on several wedding dresses until you find The One.

There are several other areas of the wedding where I'd be more inclined to cut spending before looking to save money on the wedding dress. Having said that, I don't think the wedding dress should have to blow the budget to be special. Savvy brides will be able to find cheap wedding dresses in sample sales for example.

So while I commend Suzanne (who looked beautiful by the way), I can't help but think she missed out on a very special part of wedding planning in order to save a few hundred quid.

Do you agree? Would you feel as special in a 99p wedding dress as you would in one that cost a lot more?