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Weddingbee Blog
Like many other brides, when I first saw Lia, I knew that we were destined to be BFFs. I swooned over all of the pictures of her online. I drooled over her when she was for sale on sites like preownedweddingdresses and oncewed. And I was never deterred by her unending popularity on the bridal circuit. I mean, LOOK AT HER!
Can you blame all the ladies that want to her to be a part of their big day? I didn’t think so.
Now, I recognize that she is not for everyone. I mean, she’s no friend to brides who want a ballgown silhouette, lots of beads or lace, or a cathedral train. But for ladies like myself, who envision something timeless and elegant in luxurious satin, it’s easy to see why she is “the one” for so many girls.
I especially love the way she hugs a girl with curves (not that these ladies are “curvy” in the bigger-than-size-two sense :). Just look at the booty in these pictures:
Something I don’t love about Lia? Her price tag. You may remember when I discussed my dress shopping budget. Lia, and her friends designed by Melissa, Monique, Claire, and Judd, while to-die-for gorgeous, were just totally out of my price range. And as for buying pre-loved? I’ve got a little more booty than the girls that are re-selling their Lias have to offer. But a girl can dream, right?
I put Lia on the back burner and set out to fall in love all over again with someone a little more price-friendly. 
Did you fall in love with a dress you couldn’t afford? How did you deal?
I did fall in love with dresses that were out of my price range. Luckily for me, when I tried them on, I was no longer in love. So that definitely helped. I was a little scared to do that though, as they say to never put on a dress you can’t afford. I guess if it was meant to be, I was going to try and make it happen.
Have you looked at the Marissa replicas of this dress? They give you the same lovely silhouette for half the price.
The first dress I tried on was an Amsale, and her dresses are really expensive, too. It was my dream dress. The only gown-gown that I liked on my body. I seriously considered chopping our budget way, way down to get it, but in the end, I decided that $4K for a dress was just not something I could do. I ended up getting a tea-length gown that I also loved and felt beautiful in, and even after two months since our wedding, I still sometimes wonder if it would have been worth it. Oh well. I don’t regret that decision, but yeah, I’ll always wonder! But if I had purchased the dress, I probably would always wonder if I would have felt just as amazing in something much less expensive, haha. It’s a catch-22!
I was too afraid of falling in love with dresses out of my price range, so I didn’t even try them on! 
I agree, though — Lia is beautiful.
I’m wearing the Lia for my wedding on May 1, and I’m SO excited about it! I love it for all the reasons you mention - no fussy beading or lace, but still a big impact. However, I have been really surprised to read in the preownedweddingdresses.com listings how much other girls have paid for this dress - I got mine (from PofB in Boston) for less than many of the preowned dresses are going for! No idea why there is such a large discrepancy, but I’m not complaining!
I refused to try on any dresses that were out of my price range for that exact reason!
I also fell in love with the Lia! I tried to deny her by looking at other dresses (went to at least 5 other stores) but never found anything I liked even HALF as much. Luckily, I found a fellow Bee (of a similar size) who sold me hers for less than half the cost of what it would have been at Priscilla’s!
I fell in love with a Jenny Lee dress at a high-end wedding boutique in DC. Fell in love like I had that typical, “oh my god I can see myself getting married in this dress” moment while draped in gorgeous satin. The salesgirl discretely wrote down the prices for me, I thanked them for their time, and never went back! The good news is that I got a gorgeous dress for literally 10% of the cost of the Jenny Lee. Some things just aren’t meant to be!
Yes i have seen the dress Many times but even the pre-owned ones were too expensive. I never tried it on but tried very similar ones and that (siren/mermaid/) style just doesn’t look good on my body type so I fell on love with a more affordable and more flattering dress (Paloma Blanca) someti
es you see a dress on a website and you think you are in love but sometimes when you try it on, things change for me at least and I ended up getting a style i never thought I would even try on :).
I fell in love w/ pictures of dresses I loved but I just never tried them on… I didn’t want to fall to deeply 
I only tried ON dresses I could afford.
I was in the same boat as @Mrs. French Bulldog–I may have loved, but did not try on, dresses I couldn’t afford. It was fine, because dresses in my price range ended up looking great. Some of them, anyway. Some were totally ridiculous.
I have to say when i first saw the picture of the model and this dress i thought very nice but skin tight!
But then i saw the dress on a real bride and thought wow! This is a very nice dress…it is simple yet speaks so much!
@ivygal: I DID see Marisa dresses (like the Lia model) early on in planning, but I had totally placed this soooo far on the back burner that when it came time for shopping I had forgotten! Marisa is a great option for brides on a budget who love lia - good catch, thanks!!
That is such a beautiful dress! I resisted the urge (mostly) to even look at dresses online or anywhere that were out of my range. I don’t have the willpower that you do….
Ooh, pretty. I’m a big fan of the curve-huggers as well.
It’s beautiful! Sometimes I’d see dresses I loved on other girls here and on Wbee Pro, but I knew they wouldn’t look the same on me.
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Mrs. Cheeseburger, Baltimore, MD/State College, PA Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Fiance's Age and Occupation: 25, Medical Student Engagement Date: June 28, 2008 Wedding Date: March 2010 Venue: Catholic Church Ceremony & Hotel Reception About Me: I'm a passionate girl from Pittsburgh, currently living in Baltimore for school, who loves Penn State, seeing movies, football, thunderstorms, black and white photos, Christmas, good beer, my amazing friends and family, and of course, my mister! We met, fell in love, got engaged, and will be married at our alma mater (go lions!) in a traditional Catholic ceremony followed by a hotel reception with lots of DIY details. It means so much to have our families and friends meet at our favorite place on earth to celebrate our love for one another - I truly couldn't ask for anything more!
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