o put things in perspec- tive, Kate Mi dd l e t on and Meghan M a r k l e w a l k e d down the aisle in cus- tom cre- ations from A l e x a n - THE BRIDE WORE WOW HOW de BOULLE HELPED ONE WEDDING DRESS GO FROM MARVELOUS TO MULTIMILLION T
bride on her big day to have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. We helped with the borrowed part: We loaned Brittingham more than 220 carats’ worth of diamonds and sapphires — to the tune of $1.5 million. With the gorgeous gems added to the bodice and 1,001 Swarovski crystals add- ed to the skirt, Brittingham had her oh-wow gown — and a pair of shoulder-dusting de Boulle diamond earrings and a blue sapphire de Boulle ring to go with it. Total for this dream dress? A cool $2 million. The collaboration between de Boulle, Brittingham and Dallas-based wedding planner Donnie Brown debuted — com- plete with its own security de- tail — at the Dallas Bridal Show in July, with a media frenzy the week before. The gown re- ceived local and worldwide attention — in a story that, in- deed, just needs two people and $2 million to end happily ever after.
der McQueen and Givenchy, respectively. Both had long trains, long veils and hand- stitched embroidery and lace — and were reported to cost about $135,000, for Markle’s dress, and an eyebrow-raising $450,000, for Middleton’s. Well, as they say, everything is bigger in Texas — so imagine a wedding dress that tops out at almost five times more cost- ly than Middleton’s. Designer Mackenzie Brittingham, who creates custom evening and bridal gowns for Dallas-based department store Stanley Kor- shak, wanted to create some- thing truly unusual. Couture dresses are nothing new for the nearly $80 billion bridal indus- try, where the average wedding costs $33,000, but Brittingham wanted to up the ante. After sketching and creating a gown with an ostrich-feather skirt and fitted bodice, she felt it needed more. Much more. Brittingham reached out to de Boulle. It’s good luck, of course, for any
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