DIY husband quoted £1,000 for wedding dress frame makes it himself for £100
- Daniel Webb, 23, made a beautiful frame for his wife’s wedding dress
- After being quoted £1,000, he made it himself for £100
- Daniel watched YouTube videos and bought supplies from B&Q
We’ve all been quoted an obscene amount for home decorations, whether it’s a gorgeous frame, stunning curtains or a beautiful piece of furniture.
But when one man was quoted £1,000 for a frame for his wife’s wedding dress, he took matters into his own hands and made his own for just £100.
Daniel Webb, 23, a cinema manager from Essex, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: "My wife saw a framed wedding dress when scrolling through the Pinterest app and immediately had her heart set on having the same done to hers.
"I did some research and found online companies were charging thousands of pounds to make the frames. I obviously understand that there is a lot of craftsmanship that goes into them but couldn't help but feel that the prices were inflated due to the word ‘wedding’ being associated with them!
"Having dabbled in some DIY around the house and having a ‘how hard can it be?’ attitude, I decided I’d give it a go myself.”
Daniel, who is expecting his first baby with his wife Megan, 23, in September, figured out how to start the process by watching YouTube videos, and then ordered everything he needed from B&Q.
"I did some light research on how to make a basic frame, learning techniques via YouTube videos,” he explains.
"Once confident I’d actually be able to pull it off, I sourced all of my materials from our local B&Q using the click and collect service.
"To achieve the depth required to house the dress, I used lengths of treated timber to form the sides and base of the frame. Due to the sheer size of the frame, measuring larger than an average door frame, I had to use adhesive to join some of the timber together.
"Clamps made this process easier. To achieve the effect on the front of the frame I actually used door architrave which I attached to the timber frame with No More Nails adhesive. Once this was done I used filler and sanding paper to achieve a smooth finish across all joints.
"The frame was then painted in three coats of Dulux eggshell paint before having a UV resistant perspex sheet fitted to the inside of the front of the frame.
"A hook was then drilled into the top of the frame for the dress to hang from. The dress was then hung in place and sealed in the frame with a sheet of MDF painted in the same Dulux paint nailed to the rear.”
Daniel is delighted with how the project has turned out - and is extra pleased that he saved £900 by doing it himself.
"Seeing the frame complete and in place gives me a sense of achievement and it’s also great for us to have a visual reminder of one of the happiest days of our life,” he adds.
"It only took a few evenings to achieve this finish and we feel this is a far superior alternative to keeping such a beautiful dress in a box in the cupboard!
"The timber, architrave, adhesives, MDF and perspex cost a combined total of just over £100. I already had the paint at home but I believe the particular paint I used costs around the £30 mark.
"The most important part of any DIY is to take your time. There is no point of rushing the task at the expense of the quality of the finished product.
"When creating something like this it’s always good to remember ‘measure twice, cut once’, especially when cutting the 45 degree angles for the edge of the frame… or you’ll have a wonky frame!
"If you’re looking at creating something similar to this it is worth noting that you should use a UV resistant perspex/glass front panel to protect the dress from fading.
"Having said that we have placed the frame out of direct sunlight to minimise any risk of fading to the dress or painted finish of the frame.
"Another good tip would be to make sure you have a dust sheet for painting inside instead of using paper and recycling bags like me!
"I also taped a small silica bag (the sort that you find in shoe boxes) to the inside edge of the frame to minimise the risk of any moisture getting to the dress.
"Having been furloughed due to the current lockdown in the UK and living with my wife who is at a higher risk due to pregnancy, I like many other people have gotten very bored very quickly. There’s only so many times you can clean the house and cars before that becomes tedious.
"Starting small projects like this can be a great way for people to kill some time, keep themselves motivated and learn some new skills whilst unable to carry out their usual work duties. It can also be a lasting reminder for the future to look back on ‘that time we were all housebound’.
"The majority of hardware stores are offering a safe, contactless click and collect service with social distancing in place for you to acquire supplies you need for your DIY jobs."
Tom Church, co-founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, comments: “Your wedding dress is probably the most expensive piece of clothing you’ll ever buy, and yet you’ll only wear it once!
“Daniel’s very meaningful lockdown DIY project has saved him and his wife a ton of money, and means they’ll be able to look back and remember their wedding day every time they see Megan’s beautiful dress in its frame!"
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Well done! It's the first time I see a wedding dress in a frame, but what a nice job 