Bride Furious After She Spent Thousands on a Custom Couture Wedding Dress — Then Saw a Model Wearing Her Same Gown

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of a tailor fitting a wedding dress on a bride.Photo:Getty

Getty

The bride turned to apopular Reddit forum to find out if she was justified in her frustration, explaining how she decided to collaborate with a local dressmaker after failing to find the perfect gown in stores. The post’s author not only spent five figures on the garment, but she also claimed that she worked with the designer on several other dresses for her nuptials.

“We had excellent rapport with each other, and I sincerely enjoyed working with her. She listened and executed every design idea I had,” the anonymous Reddit user wrote of the couturier. “Of course it was a collaborative effort, and what we created was super special.”

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Stock image of a wedding dress being designed in a studio.Getty

During the impromptu celebration, the designer told her client that she would be hard to reach for a while, as she was heading to France for a photoshoot. The newlywed said she didn’t think anything of it; in fact, she was excited for her collaborator’s work abroad.

But the woman’s feelings flipped a couple months later, when she saw the photos from the designer’s trip to Europe, which featured a model wearing the Reddit user’s bespoke wedding ensemble.

“My heart instantly shattered into a million pieces. I feel like she broke my trust. This dress is so sacred and special to me and I can’t bear to see a stranger wearing it,” the woman wrote, adding that she was becoming emotional even as she typed out the story for her post. “I know it’s just a dress and I’ll probably never wear it again, but it’s so much more to me. I also paid so much for this.”

In conclusion, she emphasized the fact that the dressmaker didn’t even ask permission to take the sentimental gown “[halfway] around the world” and allow a stranger to wear it for photos.

Stock image of a designer making a gown in a studio.Getty

Many commenters were quick to reassure the bride that her anger was valid, since she paid for the dress and already created meaningful memories in it at her wedding. Some Reddit users even suggested it was an act of theft, though the bride later responded to say she “definitely wouldn’t report it stolen. I just feel like she took advantage of me and the situation,” the writer added.

Another user offered a way the designer could right her wrong: “At minimum, she should pay for the dress to be cleaned, not charge you for the repair, and make something else for you for free, as compensation/rent for using your dress this way,” the anonymous person wrote.

“I really like this solution. Suing her feels a little aggressive,” the bride replied. “I’m not mad right now — I’m more so just sad that she broke my trust.”

source: people.com