Spring is – cold snaps permitting – around the corner and young and not so young women’s thoughts turn to…. weddings.

Yes, we’re betting a few of you are planning a wedding,  especially if our friends and family are anything to go by.

We’ve been invited to several weddings this summer. All the brides are in their late 30s and early 40s. All already look fantastic and all are extremely organised, and we known that all of them are panicking more than George Osborn planning his budget right now.

We can’t tell you not to panic, especially as our editor is getting married this summer. We won’t tell you her age but she’s taking her wedding planning very seriously.

“So with just over 4 months to go, I’m starting to panic. We are just about to send the invites out along with parking/accommodation instructions.

We’ve booked our Catholic church, which means we’ve had to register our intent to be wed with our local council. We’ve filled in all the paperwork, we’ve had our wedding preparation day – as the Catholic church requests, and we’ve sorted our reception venue.

With the invites out, and everything booked we’re getting to the real nitty gritty of organising a wedding. Those little things that make it so special but also so stressful.

Take my dress for example. Our wedding is being done on a serious budget – which means keeping it under £2k (and that’s maximum). This means I’ve been sourcing vintage wedding dresses.

But going vintage sadly doesn’t mean avoiding department stories altogether. After all dresses have to be tried on in order to get an idea of what suits me. I can’t just buy from Oxfam’s bridal website off the peg, so on the insistence of friends I’m having to head into the West End to try on London’s finest meringues.

“But being cash-strapped also means making the best of what I’ve got i.e. me. That means if I can’t wear full-on designer gear I’m still going to make sure I look my absolute best for Andrew.

You don’t have to have loads of cash to do yoga DVDs, or go running with a personal trainer/running partner (a really lovely lady I met in the park) and you don’t have to have loads of money to eat healthily. So that is what I am doing.

My hair is also getting a detox. My mother trimmed my locks the other day – free and she’ll trim it once more before the wedding day. I’m trying to grow it just that inch longer.

On the instructions of several hairdresser friends  we’re avoiding heated hair appliances – hairdryers, straightners etc – and going to bed with lots of conditioner slathered on.  This will apparently maximise hair growth. None of this will cost a bean but it does mean a lot of extra maintenance. Now I know why women throw money at hair extensions etc for their wedding day – there’s no real effort involved. Hey ho!

I’m also cutting out caffeine and the minimal alcohol I drink and taking vitamin supplements – just to be sure. My skin is already getting compliments

And this is just the start.  Eeek!

Read more:

How to do bridal wear – when you are not a blushing bride.

How to get Kate’s vintage look

Are you planning a wedding – let us know!