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Gone are the days when buying a wedding dress online conjures up those (hilarious) images of cheap knock-offs that look nothing like the pictures.

Nope – now there are heaps of unreal online bridal designers way ahead of the game in terms of cool, modern styling.

Sure, many people might shy away from the idea of buying a dress online because they won’t know what the fit is like, but don’t rule it out – if you buy online from within the EU, you have 14 days to return your item for a full refund (by law), and if you buy from outside the EU and it doesn’t suit, a good dressmaker will ensure it fits you perfectly.

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And as a bonus, they’re generally much more affordable than dresses from a traditional bridal shop, so you can splash out on some really swanky shoes!

1. Free People

Cut-work cotton, lace and embroidery are the mainstays of Free People’s incredible range of boho-hippy wedding dresses. The antithesis to the big, traditional white dress, these are for the brave bride who wants to stick two fingers up to convention – and look like a total ride while doing it.

2. J Crew

As expected, J Crew’s bridal range embodies the popular American clothing brand’s signature style – simple, timeless and in quality fabrics. We reckon these lush gowns, jumpsuits and separates are just the job for a cool city wedding.

3. Stone Fox Bride

Unsurprisingly, the label-with-attitude’s bridal range is dripping with rock n’ roll style. The NY brand’s dresses are perfect for the brave new bride tribe who want a totally unique, non-traditional look.

4. Reformation

The LA clothing brand has been the cool girls’ go-to for bridesmaid gear for the past few years, but it’s the more recent bridal collection that’s got us really excited. Sexy, modern-with-a-nod-to-hippy and eco-friendly, these dresses are a winner for relaxed summer brides who are averse to anything too fussy.

5. Ghost London

If you’re a vintage bride who wants a nod to the glam 20s, 30s and 40s, Ghost London should be your first port of call. We’re talking beautifully fluid silky silhouettes detailed with covered buttons and delicate trains, perfect for a fabulous winter wedding. There are sales all year round too, so there’s a great opportunity to nab yourself a real bargain.

6. Grace Loves Lace

The Aussie label’s “Hollie” dress is the most pinned wedding dress ever – and considering Pinterest is the bride’s bible, this is quite the achievement! Like the name suggests, many of the dresses are made with a gorgeous French lace, but it’s the free-spirited, boho magic they create with it that has us a-drooling.

7. Minna

London-based Finnish bridal designer Minna Hepburn started her heavenly range with no formal training in fashion. She started creating tops and dresses at home inspired by her love of vintage, and now they’ve been featured in the likes of Vogue and Elle! Her eclectic modern-vintage style is playful, ethereal and just plain gorgeous.

8. BHLDN

This US-based brand just gets better and better year-on-year. There’s something for every bride here: princessy, boho and modern-cool, but the common thread throughout is a nod to a vintage aesthetic and a heavy hand with stunning embellishment. A one-stop shop to get kitted out, you can also source gorgeous veils, headpieces and cover ups on the site.

9. Rue de Seine

Rue de Seine’s achingly cool range is Bohemian princess to its very core. The New Zealand bridal designer creates romantic, quirky dresses in sumptuous combinations of lace, crochet and barely there embellishment. Undone hair and a floral crown are the only accessories needed.

10. Indie Bride London

An antidote the stuffy, over-the-top bridal style of old, Indie Bride London creates short and long dresses especially for “the cool girls”. In the brand’s own words: “Our range does not scream bridal. We believe that you can enjoy the most important day of your life looking like you and not be swamped in heavy bridal fabrics and layers of tulle.”

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An eight-year-old girl in Yemen died of internal bleeding on her wedding night after marrying a man five times her age.

“On the wedding night and after intercourse, she suffered from bleeding and uterine rupture which caused her death,” Arwa Othman, head of Yemen House of Folklore, told Reuters of the child bride, whom she referred to as Rawan. “They took her to a clinic but the medics couldn’t save her life.”

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The girl was married to a 40-year-old man in the town of Meedi in Hajjah province in northwestern Yemen.

A local security official denied that the girl’s death had taken place.

Two Meedi residents told Reuters that the girl had died on her wedding night and that the local tribal chiefs tried to cover up her death when the news broke. A local journalist was reportedly warned to not cover the story.

Due to the extensive poverty in Yemen, it is not uncommon for poor families to arrange marriages for their young daughters in exchange for a dowry.

Othman said authorities have not taken action against the husband or the girl’s family.

In 2013, Human Rights Watch reported that nearly 14 percent of Yemeni girls were married before the age of 15 and 52 percent before the age of 18.

The marriage of young girls to older men is not uncommon in many parts of the world, including the United States.

According to Statista, some states allow girls to marry at the age of 12, which is matched by only two other countries, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, where the consent for marriage ranges between nine and 13 years old.

It was until recently legal for a girl below the age of 13 to wed in Virginia, as long as she had parental consent and was pregnant, The Washington Post reported. Between 2004 and 2013, the state had nearly 4,500 minors marry, including more than 200 who were 15 or younger.

Of the underage spouses, about 90 percent were girls, and in many cases they were married to men aged 21 or older. In some cases, the man was decades older than the girl.

Virginia changed the law in July to the age of 18, or 16 if a child is emancipated by court order.

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Devin Jones is awash in flowers, formal attire and houseware registries.

And he’s not even getting married.

The 28-year-old Royal Oak, Mich., resident is smack in the middle of his prime wedding attendance years. A fraternity brother got married in San Diego in April. Another fraternity brother in Rochester got married in May. And a high school friend in southwestern Michigan gets married this month.

Last year, Jones was a groomsman twice — for a fraternity brother and for a high school friend. Ditto for the summer before that — for his brother and for a fraternity brother. With wedding gifts, travel, wardrobe and pre-event fetes, Jones is spending about $2,000, a lot of money for someone who lives on a copywriter’s salary.

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That’s still fewer wedding guest expenditures than for most. Americans attend an average of three weddings a year at about $703 a pop, which is up 5 percent over last year, according to the American Express Spending & Saving Tracker, though for millennials, it’s $893 each. For people in the wedding party, those numbers jump to $743 for most and $928 for millennials.

“You have the wedding, but also the corresponding bachelor party that goes with it. You’re pretty much using half your summer for weddings,” Jones said. “It’s the cost of doing business. It’s all fun stuff. It’s essentially instead of taking that trip you wanted to do, you use it to go to a wedding, but you see all your friends and everyone you love. It’s a really good excuse to see everyone.”

And the expenses that come with attending a wedding aren’t likely to decrease anytime soon.

The proportion of disposable income guests — and hosts — spend on weddings has steadily increased over the course of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, except for during the Depression and World War II, according to Katherine Jellison, a history professor at Ohio University and the author of “It’s Our Day: America’s Love Affair with the White Wedding, 1945-2005.”

“The general idea is you give a gift equivalent to how well you’re wined and dined by the couple. Some of these online registries, the costs of items some couples request is exorbitant,” she said, pointing out that she attends many graduate student weddings. “Particularly for socially active and twenty- and thirty-somethings, it can be a very expensive proposition being a wedding guest.”

But spending a chunk of your income on wedding-related expenses wasn’t always the reality.

Before the period between the world wars, weddings were community affairs, with friends and neighbors making food for the reception and offering to handle special wedding touches, such as taking pictures, arranging flowers and playing music, Jellison said. The dress was from a local store, if not homemade, and the groom’s suit perhaps one he borrowed from a friend or relative. The one outside purchase was likely the wedding cake.

They were “people who had known you probably your whole life and didn’t have to try to figure out what you needed as a wedding gift, but instead knew the regular, practical items that any bride and groom would need. They’d give you a skillet or a nice tablecloth. People knew instinctively what a couple needed to start housekeeping. That’s gotten lost, but there’s no longer the idea that members of community they grew up with had to support the couple in setting up a home.”

After World War I, department stores started marketing gift registries and special bridal gowns. By the time World War II ended, the notion of hosting elaborate weddings trickled down from the upper class.

WEDDINGS AND STUDENT LOANS

Unfortunately, for people like Emily Stout, of Cato Township, Mich., this influx of “I do”-related expenses comes at a lousy time. They’re worried about student loans. They are at their first or second jobs, so the salaries aren’t great. They’re saving money for their own impending nuptials or if they’re single, they want to look their best to catch the eye of a fellow guest. They have weekly entertainment costs that would make a baby boomer exhausted just thinking about them.

Stout, a 21-year-old Central Michigan University student who got married in May in an $8,000 ceremony and party, has three others to attend with her new husband, including one where she’s a bridesmaid and one where he’s a groomsman.

She opts to give gift cards, because then she’s not limited to the items the marrying couple has selected.

“I think it’s at a lot of money, but at the age I’m at, I knew it’d be a lot of money. It’s the age where everyone is getting engaged and married,” Stout said. “I also have to keep in mind saving up for college. And I spent so much of my own money out of pocket for my own wedding.”

For her wedding, the most expensive gift she and her husband received was a Keurig machine and the least expensive were $20 gift certificates to Bed, Bath & Beyond and Subway.

HOW TO BE A WEDDING GUEST

Wedding industry experts offer the following tips for people who are spending much of the summer watching friends and relatives get hitched.

• Buy the gift early. The sooner you look at the bridal registry, the more price-point options you have to choose from. Pick one that doesn’t strain your wallet too much. Alternatively, chip in for a pricey gift with other people.

• Think outside the gift box. If you can’t afford much on the registry, consider buying a less-expensive listed item and augmenting it with a personal or sentimental gift for the couple. Another option is if you have a certain talent, offer that up. If you are artistic, consider giving them a piece of your work.

• Go the gift card route. Buy discounted gift cards to places the marrying couple like.

• Dress smartly. If you’re in the wedding party and have to buy your outfit and shoes, think of ways to re-wear it (perhaps with tailoring) after the big day. If you’re a guest, wear something you already have and spruce it up with different accessories rather than buying something new.

• Plan your travel. Book your airfare and accommodations early for better deals. Shop online for the best deals. When possible, use frequent flyer miles and hotel alternatives, such as crashing at a friend’s home or Airbnb. Consider taking the bus or train or carpooling. If it’s a destination wedding, consider making that your vacation and lengthen the trip for some “me time” without the rest of the wedding gang.

• Keep expenses for a destination wedding or out-of-town travel to a minimum. Maybe the gang is going to eat the day before the ceremony or is taking a local day cruise. Set a personal “party budget” in advance and stick to it.

• Say no to the “I do.” If you can’t afford to attend, politely decline.

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Women who are sports fans in Iran have limited options as to what sports they can see live — they’re banned from attending soccer games, for example, since the fans can get unruly. Laleh Emileh was always a major basketball fan — “since birth,” she says — and attended many live basketball games in her native Tehran.

At one of these games in 2003, at Azadi Stadium in Tehran, Laleh, then 17, witnessed something she would not soon forget: It was a matchup in theMiddle East Youth Basketball League, and the defending champion, Iran, was losing to Jordan when a tall, blondish Jordanian player purposely injured one of the Iranian team’s highest scorers. The Jordanian, also 17, was kicked out of the game, but his team went on to win the title.

Laleh, 29, left Iran in 2010, and settled in San Francisco, later moving to San Carlos. She has worked in everything from human resources to flower arranging, and now is an accountant for Baychem, a chemical company.

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In March of last year, her manager asked her to have lunch with a new hire. His name was Mutasem “Sam” Elayyoub, and he had received his MBA from the Keller School of Management in Dallas and arrived in San Jose for a contract position (that job ended and Sam is now the lead developer at Outsell in Burlingame).

Says Laleh now: “When my manager asked me to come, my first thought was ‘Why me?’ I heard he was from Jordan, and I thought, ‘He’s going to hate me for being from Iran.’”

Nevertheless, she chose the Jordanian-owned Dish n Dash in Sunnyvale for the group.

She expected Sam to be short and with a full beard; he was neither.

One of her first questions to him was about his height, and she quickly learned that not only had he played basketball, but something even more surprising: That he was the one who had made that controversial move all those years ago that had cost Iran the title.

Yet the conversation flowed so easily — especially when they learned that they shared a love of comedian Jeff Dunham’s “Achmed the Dead Terrorist” ventriloquist act — so much so that the others at the table were left out of the conversation.

Both had strong misconceptions about the other that could have easily derailed things. Sam asked why Laleh wasn’t wearing a hijab; Laleh got defensive, saying Iran’s post-revolution government does not represent her, or most Iranians for that matter. She had her own misconceptions about Sam, and quickly learned that he’s Christian Orthodox and proud of his Jordanian Christian heritage.

“Most Americans put us all in the same category as Middle Easterners,” Laleh says, “but between us, we are so different. Our language isn’t the same, nothing is the same.”

Sam’s family had been pushing him to settle down, but he hadn’t felt any urgency — that is, until he met Laleh.

“This is what I want,” he thought to himself. “I don’t need to look anywhere else.”

Finally, Sam asked Laleh to join him for a movie he was seeing with his team later that afternoon. Laleh says she accepted for professional reasons, but something more personal soon crept in. “The last thing we did was watch the movie,” she says. “We were talking and laughing the whole time.”

Dinner followed.

When Sam got home that night, he called his brother-in-law, saying: “I believe I came to California to get married. I found who I want.”

Laleh hadn’t been focused on finding a husband, but meeting Sam “felt like this happy accident. While I tend to overanalyze everything, this was a decision that just made sense.”

It helped matters that Laleh had been baptized a few years earlier.

Laleh slowly started leaving things in Sam’s apartment. Then last June, Sam’s mother surprised him by showing up unannounced. She hadn’t seen her son in four years.

Living together before marriage isn’t done in either of their cultures, so Sam did the only thing he could think of: He told his mother he had gotten married. After her shock wore off, “my mother fell in love with Laleh immediately,” Sam says. “Within days they were doing things without me.”

The couple, who now live in Redwood City, actually did marry after Sam’s mother left, June 30, 2015, at City Hall. Sam asked Laleh’s brother, who lives locally, for his blessing. And together, the couple decided Christmas would be the perfect time for a church wedding so their families could attend.

“We come from cultures where we don’t usually decide who we’ll marry on our own,” Laleh says. “But all of them were so supportive.”

The couple had a big church wedding Dec. 26 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in San Jose, with a reception at theSilicon Valley Capital Club. The reception included a zaffa, a musical processional with drums and a belly dancer, as per Jordanian custom, and baklava.

For their honeymoon, the couple took their immediate family members in an RV to Las Vegas and Disneyland.

Guests flew in from around the world, although some, including Laleh’s father, couldn’t get visas to travel because of the timing of the terrorist attacks in Paris.

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“If we hadn’t come to America, none of this would have happened,” Laleh says. “It’s so surreal; we come from two totally different backgrounds. But when I saw my mom holding hands with his dad at the wedding, I was shocked at how these two people are walking together in San Jose. It didn’t make sense to me at all, but it happened, and that’s the beauty of it.”

Personalizing an array of decoration items can add a unique and memorable touch to the special day.

Wedding designers work with the bride and groom to create their vision for decorations and can share current trends.

Katie Brown, owner of Spectacular Settings in St. Joseph, says popular wedding colors this year are gold sequined tablecloths and table runners or plush pink and navy decorations.

Versatility can allow for decorations of similar colors to be adjusted to design a standalone event.

Here are some tips for planning an individualized wedding:

Pick a color scheme

Usually brides start the process with choosing bridal gowns and coordinate the color palette to compliment those colors. After the bride chooses a basic color scheme, the decorator needs to discuss the vision for the wedding, such as if the couple wants an antique or modern look.

Grace Dahlgren, a local wedding designer, says she enjoys working with brides to create the vision they have for their wedding days and likes to incorporate ideas the bride views online.

“Every bride has their own picture in their mind already of what they would like and it takes a special designer to be able to capture that vision and make it happen,” Dahlgren says.

Consider unique or homemade pieces

Dahlgren says she has collected around 200 mismatched china pieces. She can set up china plates for salad and dessert along with cups and saucers.

“This is about just finding pieces that somebody else doesn’t want anymore and trying to recreate a beautiful purpose for them,” Dahlgren says. “I want to share these items that make any event beautiful.”

She makes candlesticks to use for unique centerpieces on tables with the option of vases, lace backdrops and flower arrangements. In addition, she is collecting formal picture frames that can be used at the name card table.

Choose between self-setup or contract the work out

Shannon Noble, owner of Elevate Your Event in St. Joseph, says the items the bride selects can be set-up and torn-down by the decorator or the couple can set the décor up themselves or have a friend do it at the facility.

Noble is in the process of building a studio in her home and she is focusing on décor item rental. She started with collecting lanterns, candlesticks and glassware.

It is important to verify with the venue owner what dates and times the items must be removed to ensure enough time is allotted to take the items down.

In addition, be prepared to pay a damage deposit at some businesses.

Local companies usually ask for a payment to cover unforeseen losses of items. The funds will be returned if items are returned in reusable condition.

Decide on the centerpieces

The centerpieces set the tone for the reception and allow the designer to step outside the box to showcase the couple’s personal style at each table. The decorations allow for the wedding décor to personalize the experience with flowers, candles, photos and props that coordinate with the overall theme.

It has become popular for couples to mix and match the décor colors and decorate each table differently and allow for its own flare.

To choose the right centerpieces, the couple should consider how they want guests to interact with each other. Tall decorations and vases may block the view across the table while others can serve as an icebreaker.

Make an appointment with the designer

The bride can meet face-to-face with the designer to discuss the reception, wedding ceremony and dinner afterwards.

Noble says she reviews the number of tables and their shapes in order to scale designs and disperse the décor to prevent the room from appearing cluttered.

She also advises couples to remember decorations for the cake and gift tables that can add to the overall feel of the venue setting.

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Pippa Middleton’s big day will be the biggest society wedding of next year – and her royal niece and nephew may be the icing on the cake!

• Want to keep up with the latest royals coverage? Click here to subscribe to the Royals Newsletter.

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With Prince George turning 4 in July 2017, he could well have a leading role as a page boy or ring bearer in Middleton’s upcoming wedding to hedge fund manager James Matthews. And royal fans have been excitedly pondering ifPrincess Charlotte, who will be 2 next May, will assume the task of flower girl.

he couple officially announced their July 17 engagement on Tuesday morning, after Princess Kate’s younger sister, 32, showed off her gigantic sparking ring to photographers as she left her home in Chelsea, London.

Kate and Prince William issued a statement saying they were “absolutely delighted with the news,” while proud dad Michael Middleton said, “they make a wonderful couple and we wish them every happiness together.”

It is too early to know who Pippa will choose for her bridal party, and the palace has no further details of how the family will be involved. But if George is in the wedding party he would be following in the footsteps of his dad, who was page boy at the nuptials of his uncle Prince Andrew to Sarah Ferguson. He was just 4 at the time.

5 Things to Know About Pippa’s Fiancé James Matthews!

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Here are some interesting facts about motor vehicle costs as reported on canstarblue.co.nz.

52% of drivers actively monitor fuel prices.

32% of drivers say they’re willing to drive further for cheaper fuel.

New Zealand ranks #11 for lowest fuel prices in OECD countries. More than half the pump price is tax.

35% of motorists spend less than $100 a month of fuel. About half (51%) spend between $100 and $249 a month.

Frugal AC from Whakatane writes, “If you want to spend less on printer ink, check your settings and select ‘draft’ as the default. It will save a lot of ink!”

Lorraine from Hamilton has some tips for DIY shoe repairs. “Puncture holes can be sealed with a strip of duct tape inside the shoe or boot… Larger holes or tears on the upper can be repaired with a product called Shoe Goo (which is used by skateboarders who tend to wear out one shoe faster than the other) but it was originally designed for tennis shoes… Also available are DIY shoe repair kits online for other types of shoe repairs – including ladies high heals… A bicycle repair kit with rubber cement will also mend a hole in soles as a temporary patch.”

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According to a recent article in the NZ Herald the high cost of housing is causing some newlyweds to be to reconsider the cost of their wedding. They are doing this by:

Reducing the number of guests. A venue manager said the average number of guests had declined from 120 to 80.

Holding the ceremony in a private home or public space (like a beach).

Having a DIY wedding.

The oily rag website at www.oilyrag.co.nz has lots of tips for those who want a DIY wedding.

GC from Christchurch says, “Look at local Council venues for the wedding – halls, gardens and council buildings. They are much more reasonably priced than particular wedding venues as they are there for the community to use and some of them are gorgeous. There is heaps of info on the Christchurch City Council website about booking council space for weddings with all costings, photos and info about the spaces and their facilities.”

Anonymous writes, “We had the best value wedding ever. We went down to the local registry office during lunchtime, paid the fee (which was about $60 at the time), read the statutory vows, and signed on the dotted line. We didn’t even have any witnesses so a couple of the court staff did that for us. That was about 20 years ago, and we are still happily married!”

Lori says, “Planning a summer wedding? I paid $100 for a second hand dress from an opportunity shop in Waikanae and customised it. No need for a $2,000 dress!”

SW has a number of excellent tips:

- The wedding reception is usually the expensive bit because you are feeding a huge number of people. Instead of a wedding breakfast, why not invite the guests to a light afternoon tea straight after the service. You can enlist the help of friends and relies a few weeks beforehand to do some baking. Then have a very small wedding breakfast for immediate family only, either at home or at a restaurant. There are lots of cheap and fun alternatives to hiring an expensive venue and band.

- If you are an oily ragger you can bake your own wedding cake! Hire cake tins from a bakery if you want different sized tiers.

- Use a computer to make your own invitations. There are so many flash fonts and clip art pictures these days that it is a huge waste of money to have invites done at the printers. Deliver local invites by hand to save postage.

- Our local Zephyr club lent us some cars and drivers, and the only payment they required was to be allowed to take photos to display at their next meeting! The same was true of the floral arrangers using free flowers from Mum’s and her friend’s gardens – and all they wanted was to be able to take photos. Speaking of photos, hire a student from a local polytech course or amateur photography club. If you’re worried about the results, hire two photography students!

We would love to hear from you with tips or questions to share with readers, so please contact us via the website at oilyrag.co.nz or by writing to Living off the Smell of an Oily Rag, PO Box 984, Whangarei.

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When you hit a certain age, summer seems to turn into wedding season. And when you go to a lot of nuptials, and you’ll probably end up participating in at least a couple — which is good news, really! Being part of a wedding party allows you to attend events regular wedding guests don’t, and enjoy bonding time with your closest friends and family.

Unfortunately, being a part of someone else’s wedding is also expensive.

A survey by Weddington Way found that bridesmaids spend an average of $1,324 on wedding-related costs. And that number can be much higher, depending on where the wedding is and what’s involved. And it isn’t much cheaper to stand on the groom’s side. BuzzFeed ran its own survey and found that groomsmen paid anywhere from $160 to $2,960.

But what exactly are you paying for? We break down the six biggest costs of being in a wedding, and offer tips on how you can save on each — without making anyone mad.

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Attire

Groomsmen are the luckier ones when it comes to wedding day attire. Many can rent a tuxedo (which is cheaper than buying), but you should still expect to shell out some bucks. The average tuxedo rental costs $196, according to WeddingStats.org.

Bridesmaids can expect to drop even more. According to Weddington Way, the average cost of a dress comes in at $165, while shoes add another $71 and accessories tack on $56. If you need your dress altered (and you probably will if it’s full-length or chiffon), expect to pay another $50 to $100.

The average cost of a bridesmaid dress comes in at $165, while shoes add another $71 and accessories tack on $56.

On the big day, bridesmaids often opt for a professional hair and makeup job, which adds another $89 on average, according to Weddington Way. That brings the total up to $431 or higher.

Where to Save: For groomsmen, if the groom didn’t preselect a tuxedo shop, you can lower your costs by shopping around for a cheaper rental. For bridesmaids, most dresses are hand-selected by the bride, but you can still get a bit of a discount on the shoes. Skip the shoes offered in the pricey wedding boutique and hit discount spots like DSW.

The Bridal Shower

For the bridal party, the events leading up to the big day take the biggest bite out of your wallet, starting with the bridal shower. The bridesmaids typically pay for this party. On average, you can expect to pay $193, but your costs could be higher or lower depending on the event.

At a basic level, expect to foot the bill for decorations, finger food, party favors, and a gift for the bride. If you host the event at a restaurant or venue, lunch runs $15 to $40 per person, or up to $1,000 for 25 guests, according to CostHelper.

Where to Save: To really slash costs, skip the venue and host a backyard brunch or luncheon. A pop-up tent, some tulle, and a few Italian sopranos over the speakers are really all you need to turn a backyard shower into a glamorous event. Enlist all of the bridesmaids to help with food, and buy in bulk at a warehouse club like Sam’s Club or Costco.

The Bachelor Party

The bachelor party is the priciest event for groomsmen. Countless movies have detailed the cost — and the experience — of a bachelor party, and when you look at the real numbers, Hollywood isn’t that far off.

Nearly one-third of bachelor- or bachelorette-party goers spent more than $850 on the event, according to a Priceline survey. Typically, food and drink make up the biggest part of the cost at 28%, but airfare, hotel stays, and entertainment aren’t far behind.

Where to Save: If you’re traveling for a bachelor party, book your tickets as early as possible through sites like Priceline and Kayak. Most travel sites offer better deals for advance booking. If you can, arrange to share a room with another groomsman to cut down on the cost of hotel stays.

The Bachelorette Party

Bridesmaids may do a little better on this rite of passage than groomsmen. On average, a bridesmaid spends $308 for the bachelorette party, according to Weddington Way.

Plan the bachelorette party in advance, and ask around for group discounts.

Don’t forget, though, that most bridesmaids have already forked over the cash for a bridal shower. That brings their total pre-wedding event costs up to $501, before gifts.

Where to Save: If you’re planning the bachelorette party, you don’t have to go low-key and boring to save a few bucks. Instead, plan in advance and ask around for group discounts. Venues like spas and concert halls may offer group rates.

Travel

If you’re traveling for the big day, don’t forget to add the cost of transportation and lodging to your total. On average, people pay $317 in travel costs alone, according to Weddington Way.

Where to Save: During the bachelor or bachelorette party, you may have felt pressured to stay in that five-star hotel with the bride, but the newly married couple doesn’t expect (or even want) you sleeping next door during the wedding. Look for cheaper hotels in advance.

Gifts

Wedding gifts are a tradition, and if you’re a bridesmaid, expect to buy at least two over the course of a couple’s engagement. On average, bridesmaids paid $125 for the wedding gift, according to Weddington Way. But your costs will depend on a couple of things: where the couple registered, and how many other guests you beat to the registry list. If you’re a last-minute shopper, you may be left with a very expensive gift, a very cheap gift, or scrambling to find something on your own.

Where to Save: Find out where the couple is registered as soon as possible, but don’t buy right away. Keep an eye on the store’s weekly ad. Unlike other aspects of a wedding, you can usually find a registered gift on sale.

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Janice Steuart didn’t think Wayne Elkins was her type.

They both grew up in Texarkana — Wayne on the Arkansas side and Janice across the border in Texas. They didn’t meet until they started classes at Texarkana Junior College in 1964.

Wayne was the student director of the school choir, which gave him the air of someone in charge.

He noticed Janice early in the fall semester, but was biding his time in hopes of getting to know her.

He had a paper due on the Brandenburg Concertos for his music history class, and he decided to turn that obligation into an opportunity. He asked Janice to type it.

“I was not a typist at all,” he says. “I could hunt and peck. And I never had a whole lot of self-confidence. I thought maybe if she would help me with this paper we could get to know each other and that would open the door for me and make it easier for me to ask her out.”

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He asked, and she turned him down flat.

Janice thought he was nice-looking — tall and thin with dark hair that had a tiny streak of silver in the front.

“He looked like he was confident and had it together but I thought he might even be a little bit stuck up and all that,” she says. “But later I thought about it, and I realized that probably wasn’t very nice. I had an electric typewriter and he didn’t, so I relented and decided to help him.”

He came to her house after school so she could type.

“It was fairly late when we got started so it was like 1 or 2 o’clock in the morning by the time we were finished,” says Janice, who decided then that Wayne wasn’t stuck up at all.

He asked her out for the next weekend, but she told him she was going to a homecoming football game. He offered to take her.

“He came with a big corsage and took me to the game. I think our side lost,” she says.

Their first date was on Friday, Nov. 13. They have celebrated it on every Friday the 13th since.

“It was bad luck for our team, and I guess a lot of people see it as bad luck, but it was good luck for us,” she says.

The following fall, Wayne realized she was the one he wanted to spend his life with — and that’s when he popped the question.

“I was sitting and talking with her and it was so easy and comfortable,” he says. “She made me feel good, and we laughed together and it just felt right. I didn’t go over there with the intention of asking her that particular day. It was such a good evening and visit that it just kind of came out of my mouth.”

They looked at rings and chose one that the jeweler promised to hold while Wayne saved up the money to buy it. But when they returned, it was gone.

“We were a little bit unhappy with [the jeweler] but he was a really nice old guy and he said, ‘Let me do a little something for you.’ We had the same setting but he pulled out a little bit larger and nicer stone to put in it,” Wayne remembers.

He got Janice a box of chocolates for Christmas and slipped the ring into one of the little paper cups inside.

“I thought it would be a nice surprise, but her employer had given her the same box and her disappointment showed when she opened it,” he says.

That all changed, of course, when she spotted the real present inside.

They were married on July 16, 1966, in County Avenue Baptist Church of Texarkana, although the wedding almost didn’t happen as scheduled.

They had their blood tests done in plenty of time and Wayne’s mother gave written permission for him to marry before the age of 21. But Wayne forgot to pick up the license at the Miller County clerk’s office, remembering only when the preacher asked for it the Friday night before the wedding.

After some pleading from Wayne, the county clerk agreed to open the courthouse so he could get it.

Soon after they married, Wayne accepted a job in music and youth ministry at Antioch Baptist Church in Little Rock. During his almost 20 years there, he completed a master’s degree and became a social worker, first part time and then full time, eventually leaving the ministry to be a psychiatric social worker.

Janice was a teacher in the Pulaski County Special School District for 15 years.

They have one daughter, Shannon Webber, who lives with her husband, David, and their three children in Murphysboro, Ill.

“I still love her,” Wayne says of his bride. “It’s hard to remember a time when we weren’t married. We’ve been together so long. And the other side of that is that time has flown. I look back and it doesn’t seem like there’s any way possible that it’s been 50 years, but it has.”

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On learning that the groom had not made arrangements for videographing the event, family members of the bride called off the wedding at the last minute and walked out of the marriage hall near Thuraiyur in Trichy on Sunday.

The drama did not end there as the groom approached the Thuriayur police along with family claiming that they had been cheated as all the money spent on the marriage had gone waste. Ironically, the families are close relatives. The bride and the groom decided to part ways mutually.

All was not well for members of both families ever since talks began for the marriage. Senthil, 32 a lorry driver from Perambalur district, decided to marry Revathi, 30, daughter of his aunt hailing from Thuraiyur.

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The bride’s father Thangaraj, an employee of the state express transport corporation (SETC), wanted the wedding to be a grand affair. He insisted that the ceremony to be held in a big wedding hall.

However, Senthil was keen on cutting costs and convinced the bride’s family to conduct the marriage in a small hall in Thuraiyur. Though he reportedly agreed to make arrangements for a wedding photographer and videographer, he did not do so.

On Monday, by the time the photographer arrived many of the marriage rituals were over and a quarrel broke out between Thangaraj and the groom’s family members.

At one stage, the bride’s brother Baskar and another man pulled took her out of the wedding hall and called off the marriage. Meanwhile, Revathi fell unconscious and was rushed to the Thuraiyur government hospital.

Senthil approached the Thuraiyur police, who took him to the hospital to have discussions with the bride. Thangaraj maintained that he was irked over not having a wedding videographer.

“Though Senthil was ready to marry her, the bride was not willing as he had insulted her father by not making proper arrangements,” said sub inspector Thangavelu from the Thuraiyur police station.

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