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The woman who helped usher the interior design industry into full flower in the United States was prolific in putting out ideas that will help freshen up today's interior design business. Look at our latest Designer Monthly, Interior Design: Look Forward by Looking Back to Dorothy Draper.

Did you ever have a problem designing small spaces?  Take a look at how top interior designers solved this common problem in our latest Designer Monthly, How to Design Small Spaces at the Kips Bay Decorator Show House.

 

 

 

Wednesday
Aug312011

Wedding dresses: uniquely expensive

Before Kim Kardashian got married last week, fashion and celebrity rags were abuzz about the "reveal" of her wedding dress. In fact, it turned out that she had three wedding dresses that she wore throughout the evening, all designed by "family friend" and bridal design megastar Vera Wang. Estimated cost - well, MSRP since Kardashian surely did not pay for them - for these gowns? Around $135,000 - $150,000 each.

Back in May, Catherine Middleton's wedding gown caused even more speculation and delight when it was finally revealed. Undoubtedly a triumph, the Sarah Burton-designed satin masterpiece was estimated to cost around $415,000. The hand-stitched lace shoes and veil were extra.

The bridal gown is one of the biggest ticket items of any wedding, with even non-celebrity brides willing to spend several thousands of dollars on a dress they will wear (presumably) for a few hours once in their lives. Between celebrity stargazing and television shows like "Say Yes to the Dress," pop culture feeds this beast and perpetuates the unquestioned idea that bridal gowns are egregiously expensive and that is that.

But...why are wedding dresses so expensive? And are they worth it?

After shopping for her own gown, Caitlin Kenney of NPR's Planet Money asked this question when she recently visited New York's International Bridal Week.  Have a listen or read the transcript and see what you think.

Interested in planning weddings and advising brides on their wedding attire? The Sheffield Wedding & Event Planning course teaches everything you need to know to orchestrate a memorable event, from creating a guest list, to hiring vendors, to creating a beautiful wedding design.

 

Reader Comments (27)

People go overboard on a lot of things wedding-wise. It depends on what they are emotional about and what "catches their eye".
August 31, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterBill Davis
A wedding is a special occasion... But I don't think it justifies paying $100k+ on a wedding dress!
A wedding dress is an important part of any girls life they grow up dreaming of the fairytale but looking back on my own wedding it was just one day and my dress worn for about 10 hours is now hanging 15 years later in a bag in the wardrobe. There is no need to spend thousands on a dress or have it from a designers collection, there are so many decent priced dresses out there that are beautiful and want break the bank!
September 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterCaroline Sound
I've seen the whole body pictures of her wearing her wedding gown she's stunningly beautiful.. Really pretty in her wedding gown..
September 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterKim Kardashian Posters
You'll only wed once so I think it really depends. One of the main things that is important in every wedding is the wedding dress so I'm not surprised why women spend so much :)
September 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterTai @ Residential boilers
For making your wedding a sensational one, wedding dress is very important for the bride as well as in her shoes. In some royal wedding or any expensive wedding, some brides chooses to silver kind of shoes that make them elegant.
September 9, 2011 | Unregistered Commentersilver wedding shoes
really interesting article, add to my knowledge, I'm so glad you can read this article, hopefully this article can help me in my life. thanks a lot
September 12, 2011 | Unregistered Commentersepatu kerja
Dresses and rings, at least with my wife,lol. But how do not get emotional about weddings?
September 13, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterRandy@bestweddingspeeches
This is too much money for a wedding dress. Not to be offensive, but Diana's wedding dress did cost £ 1000.00....
September 21, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterHochzeits DJ
That's so unique. Wedding dress should look so expensive and elegant because it is one of the most important thing to be prepared in wedding together with the shoes. There are wedding gowns like in royal wedding who spent so much for the gown. But sometimes, it is not important how much the wedding dress is. It is important that you are really comfortable and confident with what you decided to wear.
September 22, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterplaymobil wedding
Wedding dresses are expensive because they know people will pay anything for a special or even not so special dress. They know it's a captive market and the brides usually get what they want and hang the expense!
September 22, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterwedding venues glasgow
Of course Kim and Kate could afford dresses costing 6 figures. For the rest of us, it's still possible to get an expensive looking dress that doesn't cost a fortune. The key is finding a dress that makes you feel like a million bucks. It doesn't matter how much you spend, a $200 dress can still make you feel like a princess.
September 28, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterKristen
I agree with Kristen - You can purchase and extremely elegant wedding dress for under $1000. It is absurd to spend thousands on a dress your are only going to wear once. There is also a similar trend happening with prom dresses going for thousands of dollars. The media and fashion industry has placed to much emphasis on these two events and normal people are buying into the propaganda.
September 29, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterProm Dresses
Choosing the best wedding gown for you is really a hard part. There are a lot to choose from and you can't even decide which one is the best.
October 1, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterPlaymobil
I love Kim's wedding dress, but it's so expensive for an ordinary girl like me:) I can't afford to have that.
I also dreamt that one day I am going to wear wedding gown and marry my dream guy. But I never dream spending thousand of dollars for such thing co'z you'll be wearing that gown for just 1 day and it isn't practical doing those thing in the first place. In fact, I always buy clothes and apparel at http://www.lnlclothing.com/ co'z I really get great discounts here. The price I am getting from this company is 3 times cheaper the price that the department stores are offering.
October 8, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSamantha Morris
As much as being excited of how the wedding ceremony will be on a wedding day a bride will be most excited of how to choose and what is the best wedding gown to wear. That is pretty a normal feeling because you want that day to be very special. However, nothing is more important and special than being with the person you love from that day on and forward.
October 11, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterprom dress
When it comes to finding the perfect dress for your wedding, begin looking early! Even when you buy through us, it is best to allow four to six months for your gowns to be delivered to you. Don't forget most bridal dresses will need to be altered.
October 16, 2011 | Unregistered Commenterprom dress
Certainly along with Kristen * You can get and intensely elegant bridal gown for less than $1000. It can be silly to invest thousands with a costume you're only planning to use after. There is also a equivalent craze happening along with promenade dresses going for thousands of dollars. The particular press along with style industry offers put for you to a lot increased exposure of these occasions along with typical individuals are acquiring in to the propaganda.
November 1, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterCocktail Dresses Under 50
Although the royal family and Kate's parents could afford such lavish wedding, I still think $415,000 seems too much. There are some similar gowns, which were inspired by her wedding dress, but it didn't cost that much. But it seems worth it since the gown attracts more exposure since the royal wedding.
November 12, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterSEO Experts Academy Review
Wedding dresses are the one thing that is saved forever and given to the daughter (if there is one). They should be chosen to fit your budget and personal style.
I saw this site, always going in a very nice theme.such matters is very difficult to find many great subject now is really nice, but I really liked your site.
December 12, 2011 | Unregistered Commentermetin2 pvp serverler
Yes, definitely agree with you. Wedding gown could be the most expensive item in wedding ceremony. However, I do know that it is caused by the cutting and also the fabrics.

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December 20, 2011 | Unregistered Commentercowsky
Wow, the price tags are just mind boggling!!! Ordinary people like us can never get to experienced such wedding dresses. Well, they have the money to spend.
December 20, 2011 | Unregistered CommenterCindy Cone
I bookmarked this site for the nice information!Thanks a lot!
February 8, 2012 | Unregistered Commenter24option

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