Ever since I started trying on wedding dresses a month ago, I can barely go a full night without dreaming of dress anxiety. This is pathetic. The problem? Cost of course. This purchase is being lumped on the old faithful credit card like everything else and having broken the habit of a lifetime and jotted down a few sums, the resulting dress budget is way short of Lhuillier/Herrera/Wang.

While I work out if my pretension is at all realistic, and if you can actually tell the difference between a £2k and £8k dress, I stumble upon the notion of buying second hand. In theory, this is not my thing at all. But, as well as a lot of crappy websites, there are a few that made me sit up and think that those extortionate dresses may be possible after all.

Once Wed is by far the superior site. Based in the US, the drop down menu will help you narrow your search by size and designer. And what did I find? Only current stock Vera Wang! The Fiona dress below for $4,000 (£2,442 - £7-£9k new), the Diana dress for $4,500 (£2,746 - £7-9k new) and Eliza Luxe for $7,000 (£4,273 – around £9k new).

You’ll also find Monique Lhuillier, Peter Langner, Clare Pettibone and US designers like Amsale and J.Crew that are difficult to find here. Best of all there is a stack of pictures of each dress and a returns policy. Well worth the inevitable alteration costs on top.

Ebay isn’t bad either or you could try Encore Bridal, Brides Dress Revisited and the no frills Preloved.

Check out our favourite celebrity brides in their iconic gowns...

See what our fashion industry friends wore on their wedding day...