Would you make the very big and ( i think) daunting decision to make your own wedding dress?  This is exactly what one bride-to-be did and chronicled her work on her blog.

On her blog, 'Mountain Mama' explains that she did go shopping for her wedding dress and tried on a few but found that nothing really suited her and although she admits to not being an experienced seamstress, decided to have a go at making her own.  Which I think is an exceptionally brave move, with such an important element of your big day, plus what if it falls apart half way up the aisle!

Firstly our intrepid bride-to-be started with making her corset, from a Vogue pattern out of  a silk brocade she had fallen in love with.  The base of the silk is taupe patterned with cream, gold and brown flowers. But these somewhat more usual bridal shades lead to a problem which she had not thought about until she came to make the skirt, what colour would compliment the corset?

'Mountain Mama' decided to make the petticoat, whilst trying to hunt out the perfect skirt material.  The petticoat was created out of tulle and taffeta, with 180 feet of sequin's, edging each of the layers! Not to be attempted by those with little patience?

Finally the perfect skirt material was found and our bride managed to finish her dream dress and she says she loves it.

So would you consider making your own wedding gown? It is hard to image in our already busy schedules, with the added pressure of organising a wedding (our blogging bride's mother was organising the rest of her wedding) that many brides-to-be would consider making their own dress. But I can see the appeal of having a dress which is totally unique to you plus the achievement you must feel looking at the finished product.

So would I make my own dress? Definitely not, with my sewing skills confined to sewing buttons back on and my fear of flashing my bridal underwear to all of my guest's, when my gown starts to unravel mid vows!

There was once a time when wedding cakes were made of fruit, fully iced and the top tier was kept for the first babies christening, nowadays anything goes.

The wedding cake is still an important part of the reception, with the all important bride and groom cutting the cake photo part and parcel of the day. But the type of cake chosen has changed, as couples move away from forced traditions and pick what the want and more importantly what they like to eat!

 The choices of wedding cakes, like all aspects of your wedding, are now almost endless, do you pick chocolate and hope you don\'t drop any down your dress! or maybe a sponge cake or a tower of cupcakes or even a cheesecake or a mixture of two or three different types to cater for all tastes.

Completely breaking away from tradition some couples are now even choosing to cut their chocolate or cheesecake and then serve them to their guests in place of a desert.

As with the rest of your wedding, the decision of what type of cake you choose is a personal one and the theme or colours of your wedding will probably effect the decision. And of course you can\'t serve a cake to all of your guests without trying it first!

With the recession biting, it seems that many brides are reducing their wedding budget by buying second-hand bridal gowns and wedding rings.  Internet retailers EBay, Dress Market and Almost New, have all seen an increase in business in the first quarter of 2009, with EBay recording a 60% rise in dress listings. And charity store Oxfam are reportedly struggling to meet the demand customers have shown for second-hand dresses. Purchasing a second-hand dress and the continued love affair with vintage clothes, has the advantage of giving brides the chance to tailor a gown to fit her, whilst making more of a one-off gown.

While some brides still want to get married in a new dress, more are deciding to sell their dress after their big day. And with a 2008 Brides magazine survey putting the average figure for a UK wedding at £22,858, you can see the appeal of trying to get back some of the money which was spent on the day.

The increase demand does not just stop at wedding dresses, couples are also buying more second-hand wedding and engagement rings. Whereas, the jewellery industry in general has seen a slump in trade, some retailers are reporting an increase in sales for antique rings of between 15 and 20%. And it seems that "un-engaged" people are more willing to part with their old engagement rings, with EBay reporting an increase of 200% on engagement ring listing in the first quarter of this year.

And the trend does not stop there, wedding venues are also reporting that more brides are looking at sharing flowers, if there is more than one wedding on the same day to reduce costs.

So on your wedding day, will you be a "something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue" bride or a "something old, something nearly-new, something borrowed, something blue" bride?

Here at The Wedding Guide we have reported before that the demand for destination weddings has increased in recent years, with one in six couples now marrying abroad. But now it seems that the destination wedding trend is seeing an increase in couples choosing European venues over long haul destinations. Some countries are even deciding to make their marriage paperwork simpler to encourage even more people.

Travel companies are tipping Italy, Greece and Cyprus as 2009's top choices (we will be featuring all three in greater detail on The Wedding Guide in the next few months, so stay tuned!) European wedding destinations still benefit from good weather, give you stunning back drops for your photo's and their closeness to the UK  reduces your travelling costs, which may increase the number of close friends and family that are able to attend your wedding, especially older members of your family who may be put off or unable to go on a long flight.

Planet Holidays are reporting a 50% increase in next years wedding bookings for Greece and Cyprus. Couples can even choose to hold their wedding reception aboard a yacht! And with many travel companies and resorts offering couples very good deals on their wedding packages, the bookings are likely to increase further.

Italy has seen an increase in it's popularity as a wedding destination partly thanks to recent celebrity weddings that have taken place there. With so many romantic locations to choose from it is no wonder, Italy is becoming more popular. Many couples are choosing to rent large villas or farmhouses for their whole wedding party to stay and where they can also hold their marriage ceremony and reception, easing transportation requirements thus cutting down on expense. Though I must admit that marrying at the pictured 13th century San Francesco Cloister on the Amalfi coast sounds very appealing!

If you would like more information on destinations weddings at the locations featured in this article, keep an eye on The Wedding Guide in the next few months as they appear in our featured wedding locations section. Or sign up to our free newsletter to be get up to date with everything new happening at The Wedding Guide.

If you are planning your destination wedding in Italy, you may be able to arrange a personal meeting with the Pope at St Peters to receive his blessing!

Italian Wedding Planners www.italian-weddings.com can arrange this as part of your destination wedding in Italy.

See our main website for more ideas for weddings in Italy.

In purchasing this unique gift, you will receive a piece of land one foot square, which will be individually identified on a deed of entitlement and a map derived from the Deeds at Dunans, along with the right to use the Lairds of Dunans Castle insignia and free access to the woodland garden, walks and river.

There has been a building on the site of Dunans Castle since at least 1590 and an Ordnance Survey in the late 1860's shows a map of the castle in it's present design. The castle is approached via Dunansbridge, across the beautiful, salmon-filled river.

The Fletcher's, Stuart's, Campbell's, Lamont's and McGregor clans have all been linked to the castle through history and the castles current proprietors are the clans of Buchanan, MacDonald and Maclaren.

The money raised from the title sales is used to restore the castle and woodland gardens, which are home to some locally and nationally rare species, as well as the tallest tree in the UK. Once a Laird or Lady of Dunans Castle, you will be kept updated with the restoration of the castle.

So if you would like to get a unique wedding gift, whilst helping to preserve part of Scotland's heritage, make your couple Laird or Lady of Dunans Castle.

Gary Harvey was the creative director for Levi Strauss for 10 years. He started designing his own dresses when he needed dramatic piece's for the freelance fashion campaigns he was working on but his recycling of clothes started before then, when he was at college and could not afford to buy new fabrics, so he would use whatever he could find.

Gary's first creation was a dress made from 42 pair's of Levi 501's with a corseted waist and teamed with a cropped demin jacket.  Demin was first made as a work uniform and as Gary says jeans are "made in a fabric designed to last years" but since they have become part of everyday fashion they "are often discarded for the latest silhouette before the end of their useful life"

Since his first dress he has designed a dress from 28 army jackets fashioned into a fishtail cocktail dress. A gown from 30 copies of the Financial Times, which were attached to a salmon pink corset, to create a "tulle" skirt. And a gown made from 10 bridal dresses in white and cream, in both silk and polyester, with beaded bodices. Reconstructed to create a dress with a 6 meter diameter and worn with a bow-collared blouse.