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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Milica Cosic

Bride's 'dream wedding' cost £491 with eBay accessories, ASOS dress and Morrisons bouquet

A savvy bride had the wedding of her dreams after purchasing everything she needed for less than £500 - including her wedding dress from ASOS.

She revealed that the couple did not want to spend a lot of money just to "sign a piece of paper," and so wanted to make the day one to remember for themselves.

Cloë Thornton, 29, and her partner, Josh, 32, a finance and commercial manager, were able to have their " dream wedding " on a budget, purchasing eBay accessories, ASOS dress and Morrisons bouquet.

The bride has now opened up exactly how the pair were able to spend a mere £491 on their special day.

Cloë wore a short white feathered frock from ASOS costing £110 and paired it with Nike Airforce trainers she already owned (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)
The newly-weds opted for a relaxing evening together after the intimate ceremony (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

The pair got engaged when Josh popped the question while they were skiing in the French Alps in February 2020.

Two years later, in July 2022, the pair tied the knot in a legal ceremony with no guests.

They later had a celebration with their friends and families on July 23, where the pair budgeted for their day.

Cloë revealed her mantra was "our day, our way," and so she spent very little on the happy day - including wearing a white feathered frock from ASOS that cost her £110, Nike Airforce trainers she already owned and a pair of £3 heart sunglasses from eBay.

The pair wanted to have 'our day, our way' (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

She even made her own bouquet for as little as £30 with three bunches of flowers - costing £10 each - from Morrisons.

The newlyweds then popped open a bottle of Costco champagne in the street to celebrate their union.

The pair opted for a super chilled evening afterwards, that cost them little to nothing - playing junkyard golf and returning home with a takeaway at 8pm.

The fun-loving bride later celebrated with her friends and family in a festival themed reception - letting her six bridesmaids wear whatever they wanted.

Cloë has shared how she planned her 'dream wedding' on a budget (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)
The newlyweds later had a celebration with all their friends and families (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

Cloë an operations and strategy analyst, from Leeds, West Yorkshire, said: "I didn't want to do anything traditional, I wanted it to be us.

"I wanted a fun cool dress that represented my personality and I got one off ASOS for £110.

"My veil was off ASOS in the sale for £15 and I wore a pair of Nike Airforce ones I already had, paired with £3 eBay sunglasses."

"Josh wore a white shirt, a pair of jeans and some brown boots."

The pair only spent £180 on wedding rings from H Samuels (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

She added that the pair did not want to spend a lot of money on a simple day, saying: "We didn't want to spend loads of money and wanted to have our day, our way.

"This wasn't about just going to sign a piece of paper, we wanted to make it an adventure."

Josh's parents, who were were there to witness the marriage at Wakefield Registry Office, West Yorkshire, picked up the three bouquets for £10 from Morrisons the morning of the big day.

And the bride upgraded her usual prosecco to a bottle of Costco champagne, which they popped open on the steps - while she sported a 'Mrs Thornton' denim jacket.

Cloë Thornton and her partner Josh opted for a Costco champagne for after the ceremony (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)
Josh popped the question while they were skiing in Morzine, the French Alps (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

Cloë said: "After the ceremony, we caught the train to Leeds and went to Flight Club bar and onto Belgrave Music Hall to have burgers, pizza and dirty fries.

"Next we went onto play bowling at Roxy and then Junkyard Golf to play mini golf.

"The staff were so lovely they gave us a free game of some golf and some visors - we had our first dance to This Charming Man by the Smiths at Junkyard Golf, Leeds.

"We went home after that and were in bed for 8pm with a takeaway."

All in all, the couple spent £73 marrying in the registry office, £110 on the wedding dress, £15 on the veil, £10 on flowers, £3 on sunglasses, £180 on wedding rings from H Samuels and £100 on their activities - totalling £491.

The pair tied the knot in a legal ceremony with no guests in July 2022 (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)
Cloë's glasses set her back £3 on eBay (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

Despite their budget wedding day, the pair opted for a pricier party with all of their friends and family the following weekend.

They continued their anti-traditional celebrations by having a weekend away at Ponden Mill Weddings, Howeth, West Yorkshire - totalling to a pricier £15k.

Cloë said: "It was a festival themed wedding and most our guests camped.

"I got another dress off ASOS for £90.

"We had a s*** shirt party on the Friday night before the wedding, everyone wore Hawaiian shirts and one of Josh's mates had a top with his face all over it."

Josh's parents were there to witness the marriage at Wakefield Registry Office, West Yorkshire (Courtesy Cloe Thornton / SWNS)

Cloë's colour scheme was orange and pink and she let her six bridesmaids wear whatever they wanted - one even donned light up trainers.

"I did a speech and said: 'I wasn't going to let four men stand here and talk at you,'" she said.

"Both Josh and I ad-libbed our speeches, we didn't write them."

The couple even budget-decorated the lush venue with 100 craft beer cans they'd collected prior to the event, and each table was named after a band they love.

For food, the guests enjoyed 'build your own gyros' with meat, couscous, pita breads and dips, with Cloë saying: "The ceremony was outdoors and we had space hoppers and beer pong.

"There was lots of prosecco, baby Guinness and good beer on tap.

"Everything about the whole experience was just so us."

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