The size 4 dress had been carefully stored after the school prom in 2013 before she got it out for her ‘amazing wedding’ which cost the couple just £600
A thrifty bride did the ultimate ‘Princess Kate outfit repeat’ by wearing her prom dress to her wedding – 13 years later. Kezleigh Peace fell in love with the black and cream corseted tulle dress when she first laid eyes on it while dress shopping for her school prom back in 2013.
The senior residential support worker said her mum initially had concerns that the £500 gown may look too ‘bridal’, but 16-year-old Kezleigh brushed them off. The now 28-year-old also vowed in the dressing room she would wear it again despite her mum’s reservations that she’d ever find an occasion for the size 4 gown.
Recycling outfits is something the Princess of Wales is famous for, most recently donning a pink floor-length Gucci gown to the BAFTAs she originally debuted in 2019. After spending more than a decade lurking in the attic the dress got its time to shine again when Kezleigh’s now-husband Cameron Peace popped the question in June 2025.
Describing the gown as “too beautiful not to wear again”, Kezleigh fulfilled the vow she made in the prom dress shop at 16. Kezleigh, now a size 8-10, shimmied back into the dress on February 21 wearing it to say “I do” to her 27-year-old jewellery shop owner husband at 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe.
The thrifty bride, who spent just £600 on their big day, said people don’t have to spend lots of money to have a ‘beautiful’ celebration. Kezleigh, from Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, said: “When I was 16 my mum bought me that prom dress and from the moment I put it on I always knew that I wanted to get married in it.
“The dress was too beautiful just to wear it once, I’m glad that we saved it. Me and my best friend had an appointment on the same day. I went first and I just fell in love with this dress.
“My mum was like, ‘are you sure you want to wear a white dress to prom? It looks like a wedding dress’, but I was like ‘I know what I’m doing’. It cost £500. My mum wasn’t happy about the price of it but she did love the fact my face lit up and I loved it so much.
“I did say about the fact that I would wear it again, she said ‘you’ll never wear it again, you’ll never fit into it’ but I did. As soon as we got engaged I knew what I was wearing.”
Stunning snaps show 16-year-old Kezleigh proudly posing in the sparkly tulle dress and again almost 13 years later while standing next to Cameron on their wedding day. Kezleigh said: “I’m now between a size 8 and 10. On the day of my wedding my mum managed to corset me in but couldn’t secure one little popper, but I didn’t need it. I was so happy.
“I always wear Converse so we both wore Converse as well. We were comfy and danced the night away. His were black and white and mine were the new Valentine’s day collection – white with ‘love’ written on the bottom of them. He knew what he would be wearing too as he’d already bought a suit for a business awards ceremony we attended last year. “
The couple managed to enjoy their special day without the hefty £21,990 price tag – the average price paid in the UK according to wedding planning website Hitched. Thanks to recycling outfits, scouring for bargains on Shein and Temu and the generosity of family members, they spent just £561.
Kezleigh said: “When I was younger, I watched programmes about bridezillas and I always thought ‘that will never be me’. I just thought I’d want a small, intimate wedding and I wouldn’t want to be spending loads.
“We got married at the 20-21 Visual Arts Centre in Scunthorpe, which is a converted church, it’s really cute. It was amazing. The nerves before [the wedding] thinking that things weren’t going to go right just disappeared as soon as I saw my husband at the bottom of the aisle.
“I wish I’d savoured the moment more, looking back now I’m like ‘wow that went so fast’. We only had 30 guests, it was lovely. Afterwards for the reception we went to our favourite members’ club. It’s also where we had his father’s funeral so it meant a lot to us to have it there.
“We didn’t do a big fancy meal, we just ordered pizza for everyone and everyone dug in as they wanted. I was getting ready to take everyone’s order and my husband was like ‘no my mum’s sorted it already, she’s buying it for us as a wedding present’. I think it was off Just Eat.
“I wanted everyone to be playing games and we did karaoke. I went to the charity shops and we bought some games there and stuck them in the middle of the table. It was a really good idea to get everybody talking to each other, I really loved that.”
Now, Kezleigh is urging brides not to worry, thinking they need to spend lots of money to have a special wedding day. Kezleigh said: “I would say if you want to spend all that money, spend all the money you want to.
“It’s your life and whatever makes you happy will make you happy, but you really don’t have to. You can get married in a dress from Shein if you want to and it will still be beautiful because it’s about you two and spending the day with the people that you love.
“You have the rest of your life as well. It’s not just about one day, it’s about building a future with your family. We’ve just got a house so we’re settling into that and we want to go on a big honeymoon to Bali next year, but we always knew we didn’t want to spend a lot.
“I would say don’t stress and just enjoy it and take it as it comes. It’s about the vibes. I just wanted to show people you can do it for under a grand.”
THE COST OF KEZLEIGH AND CAMERON’S WEDDING
WEDDING DRESS – FREE (as bought 13 years ago for £500) GROOM’S SUIT – FREE (already owned, bought previously for £100) BRIDE’S CONVERSE – £95 GROOM’S CONVERSE – FREE (already owned) WEDDING RINGS – FREE (family heirloom passed down) CEREMONY FEE – £250 PHOTOGRAPHY – FREE (asked guests to send pictures taken on phones) FOUR BRIDESMAID DRESSES – £40 (£10 each in Shein sale) FOUR BRIDESMAID SHAWLS – £40 (£10 each in Shein sale) BRIDESMAID SHOES – FREE (wore their own) ARTIFICIAL FLOWERS/BUBBLE AND RIBBON – £100 (Temu) PIZZA FOR GUESTS – FREE (gift from mother of groom) VENUE HIRE – £30 (discount as members of the club) GAMES – £6 (from charity shop) CAKE – FREE (friend made)
