The Dress

Hi ladies

Once you have tried on a Galia Lahav wedding gown, it is impossible to move on - if you are looking for a showstopper: this is it!

**Update - I have received my professional photography but can only upload 8 photos at a time. I can send through more photos if you need, please just ask. We have also received our wedding highlights video that gives a good concept of the dress, please just copy and paste the link below into your browser and press play:

http://www.hamiltonislandweddings.com/charles-kristin-williams/

MY STORY

I am a practical person, I have a mortgage and I scoured all the second hand wedding dress websites for over a year as I was quite happy to find something simple and elegant at an affordable price.

By chance, I won tickets to a Galia Lahav Trunk show where dresses a flown from New York and abroad for brides to try on, as the collections are not housed in the Australian Bridal Stores (ie. the dresses go on international tour haha). The event was hosted by Eternal Bridal Armadale Bridal Store, at the Langham Hotel in Melbourne the weekend that my Maid of Honour was flying from Perth to go bridal dress shopping with me. I thought it would be a fun way for my bridesmaid and I to spend a few hours on Saturday night before going to dinner, sipping on Champagne and trying on Haute Couture, like out of a scene from Sex in the City.

As Galia Lahav dress prices range from $6000 - $19,500, I was not in the frame of mind to think I would actually find one that I would purchase. Boy had I naively underestimated the situation! Ofcourse, you can see where this story is going, it was the second dress I tried on, and I cried like many brides do when they find the one. I had tried on a number of other wedding dresses but this dress was in a whole new league that I didnt even realise existed. I decided that if I was going to spend at least a few grand on a wedding dress, I would rather pay that bit more to be able to wear the dress of my dreams that made me feel like a million dollars, as any other dress just did not compare.

ABOUT GALIA LAHAV

Galia Lahav is a bridal and evening haute couture design house, which masters in the art of creating luxury dresses. Galia Lahav dresses are not modest rather extravagant and intricate in beautiful design. With her famous illusion backs, cascading silk tulle skirts and Italian ivory lace, she has created a brand, which is a household name in bridal. All the dresses made in Galia’s studio are hand made by the top seamstresses in Israel and finest luxury sewing techniques. The brand can be found in over 40 stores around the world in Europe, Australia and the United States. Since the company was founded, Galia has been on a quest to redefine fashion for women by creating worlds most sought out dresses.

Galia Lahav is recognised in Israel and abroad with prestige and elegance thanks to her unique and luxurious designs of evening dresses and bridal gowns. Galia Lahav designs evening dresses and bridal gowns for powerful and elegant women. The fashion house “Galia Lahav” determines a new level for elite fashion in evening dresses and bridal gowns in Israel and abroad.

THE DRESS

The "LORETTA" dress comes from their current collection "TALES OF THE JAZZ AGE" and is simply breathtaking. Loretta has a body exuding bodice, with an extravagant tulle skirt. The dress is a custom made ivory, apparently the last pure ivory one made in this style. The bodice of the dress is made of crochet ivory lace, decorated with an embroidered antique lace. The gown is embellished with pearls and crystals. The back is low and has a sheer illusion tulle for support. You can read the full details here -

http://www.galialahav.com/wedding/tales-of-the-jazz-age/loretta/

This dress is specified as SIZE 38/40 and was custom made to fit my measurements. I asked for a slightly raised back (3 - 5cms) for a more modest look. Eternal Bridal advised it is the last one of this design ever in ivory to be custom made.

I was a size AU10-12 at the time and quite tall at 174cm (5.7") It has a bit of stretch however and should fit most AUD size 8-12. Measurements are approximate:
Bust: (around at nipple height with I padded moulded cup bra on): 94cm
C cup (padding can be removed)
Waist (around smallest part of middle): 74cm
Hip (around widest part of bottom): 109cm
Skirt length before alteration: 128cm

Please note skirt measurement is taken from waist and takes into account proposed heel height of 12cms. These measurements are of my figure at the time not of the physical dress as Galia Lahav studio adjusts to accommodate the stretchy quality of the fabrics. So the dimensions of the gown may not correspond directly. Please take all measurements parallel to the ground - you may need a 2nd person to help. I can send through more measurements if you need.

The dress also has a hoop and reinforced straps and 2 different bustling options (to fold up the train).

This dress was designed in New York, made in Tel Aviv, Israel and shipped to me for my wedding in March 2016. I have an AMAZING seamstress who completed the final fittings and she has advised she is happy to do any further alterations for the next bride, as she knows the dress really well now and is happy to provide all instructions and verification of quality.

The dress is professionally drycleaned ($693 cost) at Syndal's Drycleaners Armadale (recommended by Eternal Bridal). I have full certificates and receipts from Eternal Bridal and Syndal's Drycleaning, as well as a Galia Lahav dust / carry bag, dust overlay and Galia Lahav embossed coat hanger. Please note at this stage I am not selling the veil as I wanted to keep this as a family heirloom.

I am excited to pass this special treasure onto another bride-to-be so that it can be showed off again in all its glory, by a bride who appreciates the intricacy and detailing that is GALIA LAHAV. It comes from a pet-free and smoke free home and has always been stored lovingly in its protective bag.

THE PRICE

The retail value of the dress is RRP AUD $17,000. I am open to negotiation but being so close to my heart, I wont let it go unless I get the right price so am hoping to hear from genuine buyers. Galia Lahav dresses are sought after and extremely popular, and as this dress is so unique it is rare and would be hard to find via a bridal store or online, let alone second hand. Why pay $17,000 for a Haute Couture wedding dress, when you can get one in pristine condition, with a referral to the original seamstress, at a much more realistic price.

All sales are final and unfortunately I cannot send the dress to any state or country for inspection. If you live in Melbourne, we can arrange to inspect. I can also enquire as to whether postage / courier is an option for interstate or international delivery, but this is at the buyer's cost, so I can provide a quote if necessary.

Ladies, as a final thought I will say that I know that this beautiful dress is more on the expensive side. I am the first person to understand that. But I would also say that its in the quality and "you pay for what you get". So I would encourage you to keep an open mind like I did, you deserve that magical feeling on your wedding day - and you cant put a price tag on that.

I struggled to comprehend in the first few weeks that I had spent that kind of money on a wedding dress, but now sitting here in hindsight, I can truly say I would do it all over again (and probably try to worry less about it!) because it was worth every penny. For a good quality dress for the way I felt on the day, the comments I still continue to receive from everyone who sees it, as well as my beautiful photography and video - these are the memories that last a lifetime and become family history forever.

Its likely that there will be other brides who fall in love with my dress, so I would encourage you to contact me asap if you are interested as I would not want anyone to feel like they missed out on the dress of their dreams. I look forward to hearing from you!

Thank you, Kristin