We often show you that  you don’t have to break the bank to have a beautiful and meaningful wedding, but the expert on the matter is wedding journalist, and now writer, Samantha Birch.

She’s  written for Brides, You & Your Wedding and Cosmopolitan Bride  and knows a thing or two about planning a wedding on a budget, how much you can expect to pay for everything and where to go to get it for less.  Lucky for us,  she’s put it all down in her fabulous new book  The High-Street Bride’s Guide, and to celebrate it’s  release today,  Smashing The Glass is giving you  the chance to win one of 5 e-copies!

Simply fill in the form below for your chance to win, and while you’re waiting to hear if you’ve scooped a  prize, read my interview with Samantha and discover her  insanely good suggestions  for your big day.

Good luck with the competition!

KAREN x

THIS COMPETITION HAS NOW CLOSED

Friend us on Facebook  + look out for our  announcement of the winners on Friday 2nd  May 2014!

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Samantha, your book is a hugely entertaining and informative read, but what are your stand-out tips for brides?

Don’t let people pile on the pressure. There are a lot of ‘should’s that get thrown around when you’re planning a wedding, but it’s yours and your nearly-hubby’s day, no-one else’s. I’m not saying you shouldn’t take other people’s feelings into account–thinking of your guests’ little nuances will make sure everyone feels special and has a great day–but there’s a difference between making a tier of the wedding cake fruit to keep the nans happy and ending up walking into a retake of your parents’ wedding.

Things have changed since they got married: there are a lot more choices of venue, for starters; bridesmaids can wear black; you don’t even have to have flowers in your bouquet (brooches, anyone?)! So if people are telling you you have to have chair covers but you like the chairs as they are, or someone says it’s the ‘done’ thing to have a stylist do your hair on the day but you wanted it the way you always wear it, it’s okay to go with your gut. Gently explain to them that you appreciate their expertise, but what you loved about their wedding day was that it was so them, and you and your other half want to follow in their footsteps by making yours so you.

As for the wedding dress, I would say don’t be afraid of colour. You’ll have so many more options for where to get a gorgeous gown that doesn’t empty your overdraft if you’re not afraid of a bit of pastel pink, for instance, or even all-out bold, vibrant shades. They’ve been on the catwalks of big bridal designers like Vera Wang in the last few years, and they work. Look at Rachel McAdams in About Time: she rocked that bright red dress!

[ Image: Glamour magazine  / Vera Wang Fall 2014  ]

What inspired you to write the book?
Planning my wedding! And one super-keen friend who I was helping with hers. One day she pinged me over a picture of a wedding dress she loved, but couldn’t find the designer for, and I knew I recognised it; I sent her back a name straight away. That’s when she suggested I should write a wedding book, and I knew what it was going to be about almost immediately: my now-husband (hooray!) and I were struggling to save up for our big day, and I knew we couldn’t be the only ones. I had all these ways of saving money that I realised weren’t really getting written about, and suddenly it all made sense!

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