[Guest post by Kathryn Vercillo.]

Attending a wedding can be a really pricey affair. You have to get a gift for the happy couple. You have to make arrangements to attend the event which frequently means traveling somewhere and/or losing time from work. And you certainly want to show up looking your best which may mean getting new clothes and having your makeup done. If you know more than one person getting married in a wedding season then you can find yourself struggling to work out your budget to allow you to attend their special events. It's important to be smart about how you do your spending when it comes to attending a wedding.

The easiest thing to save money on is your own appearance. Unless you are a part of the wedding party, you can find something affordable to wear that is appropriate for the occasion but that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg. Going for a vintage look, re-using an old outfit, purchasing an item that can be returned, borrowing wedding clothing and getting your look on sale are all methods of making a smart choice on your wedding clothing. Remembering that the day isn't even about you also helps to put into perspective how much money you should be spending to get dressed up for a wedding.

Getting a vintage dress (or suit) to wear to a wedding can be a really great option. Many of us want to wear special outfits to special occasions like weddings but it doesn't make sense to go out to buy a brand new dress that you're only going to wear once or twice. Getting a classic vintage dress/suit from a used clothing store (or an online reseller) allows you to select something really beautiful without paying full price for it. The other major option for reducing the cost of a new outfit is to make sure that you purchase a dress that is on clearance sale.

Instead of simply reducing what you spend on your wedding attire, you can actually eliminate the cost altogether through a few different methods. If you have something in your closet that has only been worn once then it may be appropriate to wear it again to the wedding. This is particularly true if the wedding is for someone you don't see often who would never know that this dress has been worn. Alternatively, you can borrow a nice dress from a friend for this occasion. Or you could go the route of purchasing a new dress, wearing it with the tags on and tucked in and then returning it for full-price when the wedding is over (J: Hah! Sneaky sneaky). The only problem with that last option is that if you ruin the dress then you won't be able to return it.

Your wedding attire is the easiest thing to avoid spending money on, but you can save money on the rest of the wedding as well. Reduce travel costs by booking tickets early and sharing a room with other guests while you're there. Select a wedding gift that is stylish but at the lower end of the budget on the wedding registry. Primarily, it's all about being conscious of how much money you're spending to attend a wedding. The fact is that this day isn't about you so you don't have to spend a lot of money to impress people there. Be your usual stylish self and keep a frugal mindset, and the day should go just fine!

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Kathryn is a writer for Promotionalcodes.org.uk which gives away free voucher codes (like this Laura Ashley Promotional Code) and also publishes money saving ideas. She recently brought us the "Top 15 Frugal Living Twitterers" as well!

Labels: frugality, girl stuff, guest post, saving, thrift stores, wedding

I just paid $3.98 for a pair of Abercrombie & Fitch jeans and a Polo tee shirt!

How insane is that? I'm pretty sure it would have cost a good $70 at least brand new from the store...not that i'd really know though as i a) NEVER buy anything brand new that's not on sale, and b) have never worn anything Abercrombie before ;) But there was no way i was passing up those bargains last night.

The funniest part was that both of these items were discounted AGAIN at 50% because it was "Family day"! haha...anything with yellow tags got this discount, so while i was perfectly fine paying the $7.96, it was sliced in half. But the odd thing about it was that neither of these items had that yellow tag - they were white.

The only thing i can think of was that the cashier wanted to reward me for my patience since the F-face in front of me couldn't make up his mind as to what the F he wanted. He was sorting through all sorts of things, then coudn't decide how to pay, then kept trying to call someone on his cell phone, all the while the line getting longer and longer behind him. I was actually waiting for the idiot to whip out a checkbook so i can blog about it AGAIN, but sadly no luck. haha....i was pretty proud of myself though as i waited for a very patient 11 full minutes ;) The rest of the line slowly dissapated - half stomping out the door, and half trying to find another line.

I also found it wierd that many of the non-brand named items cost much more than the polos, gaps, etc i found. For any of you LUCKY jean lovers, i found a pair of those bad boys for only $4.98!!! WTF? those usually run over $100. I'm not complaining (except that the jeans didn't fit), I just find it pretty interesting. I'm guessing those who price tag everything are more familiar with your day to day brands.

Either way, I am now the proud owner of 2 practically brand new pairs of clothes, and all for less than a grande iced-double shot latte express 3,000 from Starbucks.

And although i haven't bought clothes from a thrift store since my vagabond NYC years after college, I think it's about time i start adding it to my shopping routine. If i'm perfectly happy with their assortment of LPs and books, why not clothes? I'll let you know if they fall apart when i walk out the door ;)

Labels: bargains, thrift stores