To put things in perspective, Melania Trump’s gown cost $100,000; Mariah Carey spent $250,000; Kate Middleton’s frock brought some $430,000 in for its purveyor; and Kim K’s most recent set her back just a half mil …

Bust of the $2 million gown. (Photos by Sara Donaldson)

So Dallas is home to a $2 million wedding dress.

Sure, billionaire entrepreneurs such as Richard Branson invest in, say, a private space -travel program, but a Dallas designer built a $2 million dress — yes!

And someone might even buy it; it’ll be on display at the Dallas Bridal Show.

The wedding racket 

Now first, if we all just think about it a second, it’s crystal clear — the wedding industry is a several billion dollar swindle by which couples are brainwashed into believing that, should they forgo the $15,000 band (one caveat here: it would be totally worth it to have The Dan Band play your reception), their relationship, not to mention their reps as extraordinary event planners (yeah, keep thinking; who the hell cares?) is doomed.

Racked.com interviewed several anonymous brides in an effort to uncover actual expenses and highlight the most ridiculous.

“Most people who are getting married don’t have experience getting married,” points out “Amanda,” who tied the knot in Brooklyn in 2015. “So we’re just like, ‘Of course the food will be $50 a plate, right? That’s how much an entrée is when you go out to eat,’” she recalls.



They spent more than $15,000, and that is cheap when compared to others’ $200,000 festivities.

How, even?

And who’s paying for this? Lenders (cool, then it’s, like, not even real money) commonly offer wedding loans to young people who’ve already racked up tens of thousands in student loans. Forget that $20k spent on cake and confetti could either help pay those off, or even prevent future offspring from finding themselves in the same predicament someday. But in your nuptial-drunk mind you cannot see past that single date.

More likely, parents and family help foot the bill. The Knot, a wedding-dedicated site, found that “on average, the bride’s parents contribute 43 percent, the bride and groom contribute 43 percent, and the groom’s parents contribute 12 percent of the total wedding budget (others account for the remaining 2 percent). Only 12 percent of couples pay for the wedding entirely themselves.”

… in your nuptial-drunk mind you cannot see past that single date.

Unarguably spending is more fun when it’s someone else’s dough.

The deal with the dress

In our culture, for the bride-to-be, no singular wedding-day item is as important as The Dress. There is even a popular reality TV show about The Dress. Once you’ve found The Dress, nothing short of finding your fiancé in the sack with your sister is going to stop you from donning that perfect, pure-as-the-driven-snow piece and step, stepping … down that aisle, friends and loved ones gazing upon your beauty, grace under pressure, and all-around taste, all to the soundtrack of live string instruments.

Entire $2 million gown. (Photo by Sara Donaldson)

And that brings us to The Dallas Dress, the one that costs $2 million. To put this in perspective, Melania Trump’s wedding couture cost $100,000; Mariah Carey spent $250,000; Kate Middleton’s frock cost $434,000 and Kim K’s most recent set her back just a half mil (of course, Madonna’s $80,000 garment is the grooviest). And the aforementioned are considered some of the priciest of all time.

Designer Mackenzie Brittingham with Stanley Korshak Bridal — in collaboration with operators at de Boulle diamond and jewelers and celebrity planner Donnie Brown — is to thank for this gaudalicious gown, showcased at this weekend’s Dallas Bridal Show at Dallas Market Hall.

White as Highland Park ostrich feathers — how’d they do that? (Photo by Sara Donaldson)

Embedded in the garment are 220 karats of diamonds and sapphires. But the dress’ more-distinguishing feature is the Aves-inspired skirt fashioned using 300 imported ostrich feathers and 1,000 Swarovski crystals.

If you loved Bjork’s 2001 red carpet swan dress … you might as well grab one, hell, have one custom made (or DIY), because, while the whimsical costume no doubt garnered some bucks, its not in the same family as Brittingham‘s opulently magnificent bird.

Swan dress, 2001.

Plus, you’ll have more fun/worry less about your spill-prone self doing … literally, anything.