Sarah Willingham, founder of Let’s Save Some Money gives us her money saving tips for the perfectly affordable Christmas party.

It’s party season and the average lady spends £206 on looking fabulous for her Christmas do!

BUT You can cut that cost right back by renting a designer gown instead of buying, and here are 10 more money saving party tips!

1. MAKE UP: Discount make up sites like Gorgeous Shop and Allbeauty cut the RRP of your favourite products by up to 70%. And you could try a free make-over at the make-up counter of a department store, it’s considered polite to buy something, but it is only compulsory if you have a MAC make over.
2. MUSIC: Don’t splash out on a DJ or band when a personalised playlist will guarantee you get the songs you want. A free trial of Spotify Premium will give you access to millions of songs and you can create your own playlist without ads.
3. FOOD: If you’re throwing a party push it back until after dinner so you don’t have to provide a feast. Or if you’re looking for good priced nibbles ASDA and Iceland are very budget friendly. You can then present their nibbles nicely on a silver tray (2 for £3 at Wilkos). There are loads more tips for saving on food on my Supermarket Guide.
4. BYO: A bring a dish dinner party is another great way to save on food, ask your guests to bring a starter, main or dessert. This is especially fun if you have a theme. Oxfam have a great, free,dine the world party kit.
5. GLASSES: If you are buying plastic glasses in you can get 100 for £1.50 at ASDA with free delivery or free click and collect. Or if you’re looking to hire, Sainsbury’s offer free glass hire but you must give at least 48 hours’ notice and pay a £20 deposit.
6. INVITES: Internet invites are the future! Marvellous site evite has lots of free templates you can email which also have an RSVP function that will email you the replies, handy!
7. FINE DINING: If you’re going for a meal before the party starts, order yourself a 30 day free trial for Tastecard. This fab card will get you 50% off loads of great restaurants.
8. COMPARE: You can compare the cost of food and drink at the online supermarkets (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, ASDA, Ocado, and Waitrose) and high street supermarket Aldi at mySupermarket which will also quickly show you the multi-buy deals available. Do also check Majestic Wines for great offers if you’re buying booze in bulk.
9. VENUE: If you can’t have your party at home, have a look at pubs, bars and restaurants that might let you have a room for free if your guests use their bar.National chain Revolution offer free venue hire. Also check out village halls that can be yours for as little as £5 an hour.
10. HAGGLE: Haggle indiscriminately, haggle politely, haggle lots. This works especially well in independent stores which could be convinced to throw a freebie in with your purchase. If you are holding an event in a hotel make sure you ask about a discount on their rooms for your guests.

Find more tips in the 1 Minute Guide to Throwing a Party on Let’s Save Some Money

On the 20^th November the Girl Meets Dress team at De Montfort University hosted their first EVER advanced try on – The Girly Night In! Here’s what happened!

Written by Rachel Hyde.

“With nibbles and wine the girls all grabbed their favourite party dresses and ran upstairs to try them on (a few had to share their favs!).

Once everyone was suited and booted, we all took turns in front of the camera! Pictures were necessary and everyone wants to look good on camera so it was good preparation for a proper night out/ party!

Everyone was being complemented on how good the party dresses looked, which was amazing as each dress fitted everyone’s individual style. After the photos were taken none of us wanted to take the party dresses off as we all felt AMAZING in them!

Finally we all picked a second favourite and went to change into them, again photos were taken and again the dresses were absolutely LOVED! It also took us forever to take these dresses off and we all stood around gossiping in them for ages – perfect for another photo op! Everyone felt confident in them and it really made the atmosphere of the night a good one!

The orange Stella McCartney Pleated Stretch Dress and the Clover Canyon Corset Print Dress were the biggest hits of the night and they definitely were keepers. After the party dresses were off we all sat and discussed them, browsed them online and picked what type of occasion they would all be perfect for!

It is always nervous being the host of a night and when you’ve got designer dresses in your hands too it was even scarier, but everyone enjoyed the night as it made a change to our usual social events! I had nothing but good feedback and it really helped get everyone excited about Girl Meets Dress. It can only get more exciting from here.”

Thanks Rachel – we’re so glad you had such a great evening! x

We’ve teamed up with Boux Avenue to find the ultimate bra solutions for any dress you rent this Christmas. Shop all dresses.

Sometimes it can be tough to find the perfect bra for the perfect dress, especially with open back or low cut party dresses. Boux Avenue are here to put your mind at ease, and tell you that there is a bra to match any dress! If you’re after a bra for a strapless or low back dress, why not try their Backless Strapless Bra which is virtually invisible, and will fit perfectly for our Nicole Miller Riley Gown in Cobalt or our Dina Bar-El Audrey Gown.

Another great bra for strapless dresses is the Moulded Strapless Bra that can be worn with a number of amazing party dresses including our Herve Leger Two Tone Bandage Dress or our Ruth Tarvydas Ice Queen Dress. 

When it comes to low cut dresses it’s often hard to find the right kind of bra. You want support and comfort, so we suggest the Sexy Plunge U Bra which will hold you in place whilst giving the illusion of invisibility. The bra is ideal for our Herve Leger V-Neck Bandage Dress (a favourite of Beyonce) and our NLY Stella Dress Black.

One shoulder dresses are often difficult to find a bra for. The Kelsey Strapless Bra has smooth foam contours with scalloped edges, and will feel divine under our Diva Sophia Lorenza Gold Dress or our Isabel Marant Merino Wool Dress.

When you’re looking for extra “umpf” under a dress, you need Boux Avenue’s Ultra Boost Bra that will give you extra lift where you want it. Perfect for a v-neck dress like our Honor Gold Lola Dress of our low cut Forever Unique Imogen Dress.

View all of our dresses available to rent here.

When it comes to going out dresses there are so many colours, but what accessories go with orange, and what shade of lipstick should we wear for blue? Nude party dresses are ideal for when you’ve got a killer new make up trend that you want to try, or have some amazing heels in a fantastic colour. You can now rent party dresses online for all your special occasions, so what are you waiting for?

Some of our favourite occasion dresses are our nude dresses. They are ideal for any event, a birthday, work party, drinks with the girls, the list goes on! Girl Meets Dress ship to you, no matter where you are in the UK. And with dresses available to rent from only £29, no need to trawl the internet for cheap party dresses!  See what our favourite party dresses are this week…

View all our party dresses here