Maybe it is just because I am getting married this year and seem to be surrounded by brides- and grooms-to-be, but it seems that weddings are back in fashion.

There are to be 4 weddings within the next 12 months among the staff of 18 in the department where I work and one colleague was invited to 3 weddings in June (2 on the same day) and 2 weddings in July.

With the costs of wedding rising faster than hemlines it is not surprising that several couples are looking to save money where they can. One place where this was possible was BHS. They introduced a wedding collection for brides, bridesmaids and page boys, comprising of dresses, suits, footwear, hair accessories, garters, tights and stockings, bags, shawls, jackets and even accessories for grooms such as cuff links and cravattes.

The prices were very reasonable and last winter I spotted some outfits that would be ideal for our little page boy (whho will be almost 2 when we marry) and our youngest bridesmaid (who has just turned 7). When i first saw the items I was tempted to buy them immediately but common sense got the better of me and I decided to wait until this year when I have a better idea of what size they will be by then.

Obviously I didn't expect the exact same designs to be re introduced a year later but the general idea of buying clothes off the peg for the little ones appealed to me and seemed less troublesome than taking them for measuring and fitting at a dressmaker's shop. The price was also a deciding factor. In specialist bridalwear shops I had difficulty finding dresses for the little bridesmaid below £120.00 but BHS had some beautiful designs starting at £40.00 and they were not too flamboyant that she couldn't wear the dress to a party later.

For the last few months they have had the summer collection in and I bought my wedding shoes there for £20.00. They have similar shoes for bridesmaids in keeping with the bride's shoes as
well. Everytime we have been to look, the display area has been thronged with people trying on shoes, jackets, dresses, looking at tiaras and other pieces of headwear. When I bought the shoes I had to queue for a chair to sit and try them on!

Yesterday we passed a BHS store (Kingston Upon Thames) and decided to ask when they expected to have the winter collection in. Once again the place was packed and we couldn't find a free assistant as they were all busy helping customers try on outfits and advising on the length of gloves suitable for a particular dress, etc.

So we walked back through to ladies' wear and asked someone there. To our disappointment we were told that the wedding items were being discontinued. What was left of the summer collection was half price (to get rid of it) and there would be an extremely limited number of items from the summer collection carried over to the winter collection with no new items being added to them.

This is so frustrating as this was one of the only places left where you could buy affordable outfits for children for weddings. After spending several hundred pounds on my dress, even more on the reception, transport, photography and flowers I am loathe to spend more than £60.00 on a dress she may only wear 2 or 3 times in her lifetime. (I know I will only wear mine once but I am hoping it will become a family heirloom.)

Why has BHS decided to stop the wedding collection? It was always so popular. Not all of us want or can afford big fancy meringue-style dresses at our weddings.