Weeonebride

* sorry... I ment "might NOT be a smooth transition."

GinaLynn22 - If your talking about mine, its from "madeweddingdress2010" on Ebay She really nice, and QUICK. Her english isnt too great though. I will post when I get my second dress. I hope everything was explained well enough with the diagram. I can vouch for the dress I had made already, but from a picture I wont know until the new one comes in. Maybe if I can get a sitter to watch my little ones I can get a better picture to show you all better! I think if someone is on a time crunch she seems reliable from her feedback, and my experience, to be consistantly very quick. ericka417- I agree with Atalanta . I think the biggest pictures skirt could be a little hard to replicate, and might have a smooth transistion to the top you really like. The layered one is my fav, but what about something in between structured layers and soft.

I just wanted to let you know that a lot of people from other forums have been circulating this thread, and I personally think it is one of the most informative and realistic ones I have seen! I just wanted to let you know because of this I ended up buying a replica because I was not impressed with my current dress, thinking it was all I could afford. I did end up finding out a little too late, and most all your suggestions had a 2-4 months if they aren't late, and my wedding was only 12 weeks away. I though did take alot of your suggestions on finding a good replica maker, and found a really good one on ebay. I first found a really cheap and 100% seller, who ended up conning alot of us, but I was quick to realized and refunded by ebay. He had 100% on 5 dresses and 200 silk coin purses... rookie mistake! Then I found another, that 95% of her sales were dresses alone, and emailed a few of her customers asking how it all went, with great responces. I had her make a Maggie Sottero Amara with some changes, and got this: (I apologize for really cruddy pic quality, I had my two kids trampling the dress, and a very un-experienced grandma helpping take pics. I am not tightened correctly, but that was because I was in a hurry to finish and not get it dirty.) The first two show the shape, but the fabric looks really shinny for some reason, but in the second two you can see the satin is really a soft fabric. Its not obviously "Maggie" quality, but more like a Davids Bridal quality. The beading is hand sewn, and a little sparse, but I bought off a listing, and didnt specify more. Still really pretty, but you can tell they just picked a design, and went with it. The "lace" is actually embrodered organza, which I have heard is pretty common. I bought a piece of lace though, and my mom actually liked the organza better, I am still undecided, but have a tight timeline. The chest is a little too tall, but I am 4'7" and I doubt they could really picture what my measurements and size would translate, but my seamstress says its an easy fix. The measurements are very good, except the length, but that may have been me trying to convert inches to CM. The bodice is very well constructed and rouging was laying down really well, and I havent even pressed it yet! I was sent pictures of a dress they already made in the style, and it looked really good, so I spent $112 (69 euros) and free ship. Communication was really good, but to be honest, probably google translated, because when I asked about the "embroadery" which ended up being appliques, she sent me pictures of the "lace" it took about 3 emails to figure it all out. Also I wanted to appliques to be the same color as the lace, and also the beading, but by the time I realized to mention it, she told me it was already shipped!! She took my order, and within 10 days it was made, and shipped, and within 3 days on my door step! She told me 10-20 days, but usually that means 30. Now I still have time and budget after I sold my original dress to buy a reception dress, which is supposed to be here early next month (ordered it today!!) Trying for a dress like this: And I sent them this to make sure everything is translated better. Basically I had a great experience, and thank all of you for showing me not all the horror stories are true, and to do research. With my seller I learned a few things: *Use EXACT photos of what you want, in different angles, so there is no winging it (like the beading on my top) and figure everything out BEFORE paying and production. *Ask for real photos of their work *Look at their feedback closely and make sure it look legit *EMail the other customers, and see if they will reply with how their dress turned out. Sorry this is so long, but I wanted to help others, and thank all of you experienced dress buyers for your inspiration. I finally feel good about what I am wearing!! If you want, even though I am not a regular poster, I can post my new dress when it comes in. I am SO excited!!