Image: ©Gunther Weber, www.ww-fotodesign.de/blog

Selling things online can be somewhat intimidating, especially when you are selling something as expensive and precious as your wedding dress. Here are some helpful points for when you’re ready to sell your preowned wedding dress online.

After choosing a site to list your dress on, such as BravoBride.com, there are some very important things to consider when posting your item.

1. Sell ASAP – If you know you’re going to eventually sell your dress, list your dress sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the lower your price will be. Style changes over time, and so does demand. If you wait to sell your dress, the demand for the style or designer may go down compared to when you purchased it. Basically, if you want the most “bang for your buck”, sell your dress as soon as it becomes available to sell. By doing so, you are more likely to sell it at a higher price than if you waited next year.

2. Appearance – women will be clicking on photos of your dress, so you want to make sure it’s a good picture. The better the picture, the more likely you’re item will be viewed (which quickens the selling process).  Don’t be shy; take a picture of you in the dress. Viewers will then have a better idea of what the dress looks like on an actual person rather than on a hanger or on a rail thin model. If you don’t want your head in the shot, simply crop it out before posting. Be sure your pictures are good quality and in focus. Remember, your photos are a big part of your sales pitch, so make sure they are great.

3. Pricing – Not all previously owned wedding dresses are previously used wedding dresses. When listing a dress that was never worn, for whatever the reason, the price will still need to be less than the retail price. Just like a car, it looses value after it leaves the store. We recommend 25% off the original retail price or sale price. Also keep in mind the age of the dress. The older the dress, the greater the discount. For example, a dress that is five years old or older, 60% off the original price or sale price would be appropriate. For the dress that was previously “loved”, we recommend a 50% discount.

4. Description – Besides photos, the written description and details are very important when selling a pre-owned wedding dress. Including measurements, preservation methods, designer, and the dress style number will increase your chances for a successful sale. Many buyers will use this information to find the dress in a store in order to try it on before purchasing online. A thorough description of the dress will tell potential buyers what pictures cannot. Damages, stains and alterations should also be mentioned so that there are no surprises after purchase.

Following these tips will help in the successful sale of your new or pre-owned wedding dress. Thanks for reading and good luck!

Great tips Gabi! Zankyou!

Image: ©Gunther Weber, www.ww-fotodesign.de/blog

After a month and a half of clicks and sign-ups, we can now tell you that the following people have won one of five £100 giveaways, slap bang in their Zankyou account.

Therese and Peter
Sarah and Ed
Lucy and Tarick
Anna and David
Rebecca and Lee

Congrats guys, from all the Zk Team! You should have received an email from Zk by now, telling you the good new, so don’t hesitate to get back to us with any questions or queries.

The whole campaign caught your attention so much that we’ve now decided to hold a similar competition every month, with a £50 giveaway for one lucky couple that signs up each month. So keep telling your friends and head to our homepage and click on the competition banner to sign up to Zk and be in with a chance of winning £50!!!

The Classical Songbirds – otherwise known as Terésa and Jemma – are two talented singers who specialise in wedding performances. Whatever the song, they’re willing to sing it for you at your wedding.

Zankyou talked to The Classical Songbirds about their experience and why they just love singing at weddings!

Zk: What is your background?

CS: Terésa studied BA Hons Classical Singing at Bath University and Jemma studied BA Hons Business at Central Birmingham University and a teaching diploma in Musical Theatre. We’ve both been singing since a young age and both come from musical families whose influence is embedded in us! We are part of TITCo (The Invitation Theatre Company!) and perform in and around Wiltshire.

Zk: Why did you choose to specialise in weddings?

CS: After our first performance together, we knew that we would be able to offer something really  special to couples on their wedding day. Our voices blend beautifully together and we knew it would be absolutely perfect for weddings. Every bride we sing for, whether it’s instead of a hymn or whilst they sign the register, is bowled over by what it adds to the day, which is something really wonderfully magical. Our repertoire ranges from Delibes’ Flower Duet through to Eva Cassidy’s Songbird – if it’s special to you, we’ll sing it.

The Classical Songbirds

Zk: How would you recommend incorporating The Classical Songbirds into a couple’s big day?

CS: It couldn’t be simpler – we have different packages to suit couples’ needs, the most popular being singing whilst they sign the register. And we can chat through any ideas for their day beforehand of course. 

Our fees are incredibly reasonable and we work with couples from the day they book us to ensure that we know what songs they want and when they want them.

One thing for all couples to bear in mind, is that Classical Songbirds will sing something beautiful, for you, on your special day and make it so memorable it’ll stay with you for the rest of your life

Zk: What is your favourite song a) to sing and b) to listen to at a wedding and why?

CS: We LOVE singing the Flower Duet – it blows people away as it’s so beautiful. There’s something exceptional about singing the Flower Duet in a church or a big room – our voices fill it! Whilst we’re the ‘Classical’ songbirds – we love singing both classical and contemporary.  We recently sang Hallelujah in 2 harmony at a wedding and that was lovely – it’s emotive and was the couple’s special song.

And talking of the Flower Duet, here’s a video of the ladies singing this beautiful piece by Delibes from his opera Lakmé.

For more information, brides can call The Classical Songbirds on 07970 638532 or email Jemma and Terésa on classicalsongbirds@live.co.uk

Weddings on Twitter are big – you can information from suppliers, check out the latest wedding blogs and organise your wedding among your friends with the help of “the little blue bird”. So given that Twitter is a big trend right now, I thought I’d show you a fun way to integrate the social network into your big day with some Twitter Wedding inspiration.

Zankyou’s is definitely not the first Twitter wedding! Why not read the stories of these two Twitter couples Paul & Sara and Greg & Stephanie, or watch a video of this groom after the vows. Also…check out these fun photos!

A Twitter Proposal

Accessories - tights from Tattoo Socks (Etsy.com), necklace by WaveCloud (Etsy.com), and tie by Zazzle.com

Invitations - (clockwise from the left) Lassodmoon.com, Weddingideias2.com, Egpress.com and Invitationsbydawn.com

Wedding cakes - cakes from www.gateaux-inc.blogspot.com and cupcakes da Bakerella

Weddigns by Twitter - photographs by Clary Photography and biscuits by I am Baker

Would you bring Twitter into your wedding somehow?

Follow Zankyou UK on Twitter here or become a fan of Zankyou on Facebook for the latest news!

I can’t resist …. I am slightly obsessed with the idea of a ballet wedding theme lately! It’s as if I were 8 years old again, when all I wanted in life was to be a prima ballerina and dance with Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Of course this is all Black Swan‘s fault. In celebration of Natalie Portman’s recent Oscar win, here are some ballerina-inspired wedding dresses and accessories.

Photos via Martha Stewart Weddings

Wedding dresses by Rosa Clará

Wedding dresses by Marta Makany

Photos via Leber Barbara, Elihav Sasson, Aire and Pronuptia

Just makes you wanna dance, right?

Our new category of Dress of the Week is about picking our single favourite dress spotted recently by an eagle-eyed Zankyouer from among the range of 2011 bridal collections. But today, we just couldn’t choose, so we went for three!!! Let us know which is your favourite by leaving a comment below.

Jason Wu Bridal from Net a Porter, via Net a Porter on Facebook

Jason Wu Bridal from Net a Porter, via Net a Porter on Facebook

Jason Wu Bridal from Net a Porter, via Net a Porter on Facebook

For more updates and pics, check out the Net a Porter Facebook page!

We love Jason Wu, and you?