I love my wedding dress to bits and I can't imagine ever throwing it away. It would be like throwing away some of the memories, plus I daren't think about the cost!

Here in the UK I'm not surprised to hear that the average cost of a wedding gown is now £826, an increase of 32% from the price tag of £625 in the year 2000. I know for a fact that most brides can't afford a dress at this price, though this doesn't stop them taking out a loan to pay for all or part of their wedding. As the average cost of a wedding soars to £20,000 in the UK it just scares me the amount of debt newly weds commit to at the beginning of their married lives.

So with all this in mine wouldn't it be great if you could buy a wedding dress for under £100, in fact pick it up whilst doing your weekly supermarket shop!

No I'm not dreaming because I would like to report the launch of the new George Bridal Collection at ASDA supermarkets in the UK! I have written a lot in Wedaholic.com about saving money and try to offer as many tips as possible, because not surprisingly it is a major source of stress. So for the budget consious I would like to point out that buying a dress from a supermarket may not be such a bad idea when you consider the oppportunities you have to personalise it.

Much of the media focus has been on a 2 piece cream wedding dress, where the corset top is £25 and the line skirt is £40. Though the collection also includes a 100 per cent polyester ruched-front dress retailing for £60 with a netted skirt and a contemporary full-length gown. In addition you can buy another second full-length gown which is described as sleeker with thin straps around the top. The bias cut dress is 100 per cent silk.

Angela Spindler, George's managing director, said:

"You've heard of fairytale weddings. We think that most wedding dresses are being sold with a fairytale price tag."

I read online that Kay Davidson, a corporate designer and personal stylist, praised the styling of the two-piece dress.

"They have kept it simple to reduce the cost but it allows the bride to customise the dress easily by adding beading or lace."

I couldn't agree more, why not get a dressmaker to add some elegant embroidery!

In fact for as little as £35 you can buy an adult bridesmaid dress and even cheaper at £18 you can purchase dresses for 1 to 10 year old girls.

So there you have it will this be the start of all supermarkets offering affordable wedding dresses? I do hope so!