Wedding belles don't come cheap

By Catherine Portland

It appears that Coleen McLoughlin will marry her footballer fiance while wearing a £20,000 dress. As much as I'm jealous of the fact that the pair have gotten through the dating scene and crossed to the other side, I'm glad I don't have to fork out for a one-wear piece of ivory silk.

This may be the perpetually single spinster talking, but I couldn't imagine spending £20,000 on a wedding dress. And if I did, I would want to make sure I got enough wear out of the thing. When I go shopping, especially for a date outfit, I always think of things on a cost-per-wear basis.

Using the basis that a £150 jumper is a classic investment, wearable for the next five years and is cheaper than a £15 version from Primark, I can't justify the cost of a wedding dress.

You do only get to wear the dress once - if all goes to plan – and people will look at the photographs for the rest of your lifetime, but does this justify the cost of a Land Rover?

Just to play Devil's Advocate with myself, it is possible that the cost-per-wear model works here, as once you've snared the man there is no need to go shopping after work looking for the perfect dating outfits.

Of course, once you've got the dress, it doesn't end there, you've got to get the perfect shoes, matching underwear and god-knows what else. The stress of planning the perfect outfit for a romantic night out is difficult enough for me, without having to hunt down the ultimate outfit of fate.

And it's not like it's just your own outfit you've got to worry about choosing - and then paying for. As well as making sure the hapless hubby-to-be turns up in an acceptable morning suit, it falls on the bride to pick out dresses for bridesmaids. I do worry that this is where I would fall down, I'm not sure I could pay £20,000 for my own dress then make my nearest and dearest members of the sisterhood slum it in Brides at Debenehams gowns.

Then there is the minefield of picking a venue, choosing the menu, the crockery, the napkins, the seating plan. Organising a wedding looks like a nightmare from start to finish, but could it be worth it to give up on the dating game.

Perhaps, paying over the odds for a piece of silk and spending three months yo-yo dieting and rowing all evening about canapes is just systematic of the human need to find a permanent partner?

I don't know if I'm quiet ready to give up on the idea of getting married just yet; when push comes to shove, every girl wants to wake up as Mrs Prince Charming, but all the additional hoo-hah seems like too much.

Oh, and don't even get me started on the drama of attending other people's weddings. There is nothing that distresses a single girl more than being thrust onto a table full of bargain basement boys. But she's probably wearing a nicer - and more affordable - dress than the bride.