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My good friend Laura aka the fabulous lady behind the Budget Bride Company has just launched a fabulous new business which is designed to take the stress out of the hideous post wedding admin and form filling to do with changing your name after marriage.

Laura and I first met at the Rock n Roll Bride's School of Rock in Sheffield back when we were both starting our little businesses.

The Budget Bride Company has grown into a fantastic resource for the budget savvy bride and I am equally excited by this new venture which I so would of signed up for back when I was going through all the form filling of changing my name from a Miss to a Mrs.  

Anyway, let me hand over to Laura to introduce - My Married Name Change...

Changing your name after marriage is an exciting step in your journey as a newlywed. It makes  everything seem official and you can finally start using your new married signature! But changing your name after marriage can also be a massive time drain and you can even wonder where on earth you should start with this daunting task. It was with this in mind that we created My Married Name Change. It's the service specifically created for UK newlyweds who are going to be changing your name after marriage and are looking for this to be a quick and easy process.

My Married Name Change makes changing your name after marriage a breeze. By filling out our straight forward, no jargon Quick Form which only takes around five minutes to fill in, you can select every Company and Organisation that you are associated with. We then email you your Personalised Name Change Pack, which contains specific and easy to follow instructions for how to let each Company and Organisation know that you are
changing your name after marriage.

What your Personalised Name Change Pack includes:

• Contact details for each Company and Organisation that you need to advise that you are changing your name after marriage.
• Specific advice on which method of contact each Company and Organisation prefers.
• Advice on whether each Company and Organisation requires you to send a copy, or an original of your wedding certificate (or none at all).
• Where the preferred method of contact is fax or letter, we will include a copy populated with all of your details ready for you to print out, sign and send.
• Where the preferred method of contact is email, we will include a ready to copy and paste email, ready populated with all of your details and confirmation that you are changing your name after marriage.
• Your Personalised Name Change Pack has a clear checkbox layout, so that you can tick off each Company and Organisation as you go through and complete the process of changing your name after marriage.
• We will even include blank templates for you to use for smaller Companies and Organisations such as Universities, Doctors and Vets so can advise them easily that you are changing your name after marriage.

We have researched hundreds of UK companies, so that you don't have to! Our service makes changing your name after marriage a simple and straightforward process. Spending five minutes on our Quick Form can save you hours of post wedding admin and sitting on the phone trying to find out who and where you should be sending details to about changing your name after marriage.

We can't wait to help you with changing your name after marriage! You can read more here 

Laura xx

PS: If you're looking for an original and helpful wedding gift idea, we also provide eGift cards that make an ideal wedding present!

Unfortunately, there are some very annoying people out there that target re-sale marketplaces like ours, with fake enquiries, even the big marketplaces like Gumtree and Autotrader haven't been able to completely stop scammers from using their websites.

Although they are pesky and an inconvenience the good news is that they are normally easy to spot. The best way to protect yourself is to educate yourself about the common signs of a fake enquiry, so that if you are approached you will be able to spot the signs.

Fake buyers who have recently targeted us alongside other UK resale sites are brown.amanda001@gmail.com, Richard.woolley.woolley@aol.com, Emmabaxter1000@gmail.com and watmary07@gmail.com.

Remember...

• Always go with your gut instinct.
• If it sounds too good to be true it probably is?
• Bad grammar and spelling is a common sign of a scammer.
• Alarm bells should ring if someone offers higher than the asking price.
• Scam artists often get in touch about high value items such as wedding dresses, rather than small value items.
• The majority of our buyers are women - ask yourself why would a man be in touch about buying a wedding dress? 
• Wedding items are very personal and as such there is often lots of lovely dialogue and interaction between the buyer and the seller.
• Asking questions which are clearly indicated in your listing is a warning sign that is may not be a genuine enquiry.
• Why would someone pay you hundreds of pounds to post a dress and then ask you to refund them via a different method?
• It is most likely that if someone is buying a wedding dress they would like to see or try the dress on.  If you are happy for the dress to be tried on, you should always encourage this as you should be able to gage if the enquiry is genuine.
• We always recommend using PayPal in order to protect both parties. Always check that money has been received in your PayPal account before sending or delivering items.

We are working hard to make our website as secure as possible. We have a registration process in place in order to deter those who are not genuine buyers from making an enquiry and unlike other marketplaces we do not give out your email address to buyers, as the first enquiry is always through our website. 

We have a spam catcher in place and have just installed a hidden spam checker. Unfortunately, huge companies like eBay haven't even managed to stop scammers yet sadly.

We are not aware that someone is not a genuine buyer until it is brought to our attention so would continue to advise you to contact us at hello@sellmywedding.co.uk if you think that someone is not genuine. We will then delete their account contact their email provider (for example gmail or hotmail), PayPal and the UK's online fraud organisation - Action Fraud.

We also post the details of the scammer on our Facebook, Twitter and Blog pages - so if you are ever unsure it is sometimes worthwhile 'googling' the email address or mobile number they have given as it may appear on other marketplaces or online fraud websites.

The majority of our buyers are genuine buyers who are looking to pick up a preloved bargain for their wedding.

For further information visit our Safe Selling page.

Best wishes,

Becca x

I found this set of recycled 100 brown kraft cards on eBay for the bargain price of just one pence, yes that's right one penny. They were on as an auction and I won them at their starting price of 1p. They were posted from Hong Kong so took a few weeks to get to me, but the postage was only £1.70. So all in all the grand total of £1.71!

I have used these as business cards and have stuck our curcular stickers on them but these would also work well as placenames or save the date cards.

It looks like they are no longer available at auction price but you can buy now (with free postage) for £2.05. The link to the item is >> here. So grab yourself a bargain. We love sharing our thrifty finds with you.

Becca x

We are so ready for Spring, lighter nights, warmer weather, new life and the official start of the wedding season. In order to get you in the mood, here are some wedding décor ideas for creating an impact without spending a fortune.

These pretty spring pictures were taken by the fabulous Ally Byrom at Saltmarshe Hall a magnificent Stately Home in East Yorkshire, that we had the pleasure of visiting for this little styled shoot.

1) Old lights make great hanging décor

2) Create pom pom garlands using haberdashery trim

3) Get creative with ribbons

4) Hang haberdashery hoops - want to find out how to make this. Click *here* for a DIY.

5) Create sparkly table numbers or words using glitter paper

6) Don't be afraid to mix old and new 

7) Look at what you have already got Look all around you for inspiration, in supermarkets, in cupboards, wardrobes, your Grandma's house. You will be amazed by the possible décor that you already have. This old fashioned bottle came full of cordial from Marks and Spencer's. 

For some more Spring inspiration click *here* to visit our Spring category. 

Enjoy,

Becca x

We have tried to make the website as easy as possible for you to upload your wedding items for sale, but just in case you have any questions here is a step-by-step guide for you.

1) Once you have signed up as a seller and paid your £10 PayPal registration enter your email address and password into the log in box on the top right hand corner of the homepage.

2) Once you have entered these details you will be taken into your profile.

3) Once you have added your items, you can amend the listing, for example to change the price. Simply go to the Edit button. You can also deactivate the listing or if it is Sold you can choose to either delete it or list as Sold.