adminAfter a hiatus in January and February where presumably couples will be giving themselves time to recover after the festive season partying and spending, we are now firmly back into the wedding season. It goes without saying that the wedding of Bona Mugabe and Simba Chikore on March 1 has raised the bar with many brides and grooms having taken a few notes. Even the most cynical among us cannot help catching the good feelings that weddings engender. Everything about weddings is magical, or it should be.
Although the décor, cake, the groom’s appearance, the attendants, the cars, the edible spread and all other little detail matters, it is the bride’s dress that really draws the attention. This is often the single most expensive item on the wedding shopping list, except of course when it is being hired. Locally, off the rack bridal gowns go for between US$400 and US$500 for brand new dresses. Hiring the same gowns will cost between US$100 and US$150 which includes the cleaning fee.
For a more unique or personalised look, brides will have to look to our ever growing numbers of local designers who are coming up with their own versions of the African wedding dress.
Or alternately, one can go beyond the borders to a regional or even international designer. It is the tradition for each designer to complete a show with at least one wedding dress and usually that is where trends are picked up. So how much can one spend on a wedding dress? Let us go window shopping through some of the most expensive wedding dresses ever.
5. Grace Kelly’s iconic US$65 000 Helen Rose gown
Grace Kelly was a leading actress who married Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956. The gown is said to have been worth around US$8 000 excluding the labour fee for MGM costume designer Helen Rose, who designed the gown. And after taking inflation into account, today’s terms US$8 000 in 1956 would be the equivalent of US$65 000.
4. Kim Kardashian’s three US$25,000 (each) Vera Wang gowns
Kim had a US$10 million wedding where presumably the food bill for the 500 guests set her back so much that she had to skimp on her wedding gown.
She could only afford to spend US$25 000, but she decided to get three gowns! .
3. Kate Middleton’s US$400 000 Alexander McQueen gown
For the price tag of US$400 000 Alexander McQueen wedding dress, commoner Kate Middleton lived out every girl’s fantasy when she became a princess.
The gown is believed to have been inspired by Grace’s Kelly’s dress. It was princess-perfect ivory satin and lace complete with a long train)! Made with the most luxurious and delicate fabrics – French Chantilly and English Cluny lace, ivory and white satin gazar – and decorated with hand-stitched lace appliqué by the Royal School of Needlework, the dress took designer Sarah Burton and her crew months to make .
2. Yumi Katsura’s US$8,5 million white gold diamond dress
But never mind all the above. Anyone can beat them any day and the perfect gown is already there, just waiting for the right bride. Japanese bridal designer Yumi Katsura created a gown so extravagant, it has yet to find a bride (or maybe we should say, budget) equally as extravagant to wear it down the aisle. Decked with a five-carat white gold diamond and 1 000 pearls, the ornate gown is available for the woman with US$8,5 million to spend on the dress alone.
1. Princess Diana’s priceless David Emanuel gown
Ever since Lady Di stepped out of her carriage to wed Prince Charles in 1981, her grandiose Victorian-style gown has remained the tulle that bridal legends are made of. It is obviously old-fashioned for modern trends and few brides would be caught dead in it this year, but the sentimental value seems strong. The 250-yard lace, tulle and ivory silk taffeta gown, with over 10 000 pearls and sequins covering its layers upon layers of fabric and an equally grand long train to boot, garnered plenty of attention during its world tour last year. Actual value is calculated at; runway-worthy fabric: US$43 000, a modern-day remake of an iconic princess gown: US$400 000, a diamond-doused showstopper: US$12 million. But because of how the world loves the woman who wore it, it is considered priceless. – The Herald Lifestyle Editor/living.msn.com
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