This replica dress maker based in China was one of the highest recommendations. The language barrier is going to be a problem though if you have a complicated dress. One request on my dress was to have pleating on the skirt and instead I got gathering which made me look slightly poofy in the belly area. I paid about $400 for a replica dress and the matching floor length veil when the original dress would have cost me 1200 or more. You will want to make a lot more measurement than they ask for so they can get it right, I gave them the correct waist and hip measurements but not the length between the hip and waist so that the waist did not flair out soon enough to fit my hips. The good thing was the dress was very well made and there was extra material in the seams for extra alterations. I received so many compliments on my wedding dress that it made it worth it but I have to say it was a headache I could have done without.

Warning - I believe that Milly bridal was a good company in the past, but this is not the case any more. I ordered a custom dress from them, and they still haven't started it weeks after it was due to arrive here. They refuse to answer emails unless you threaten them, and each time they do answer they flat out lie. I can't count the number of times they promised a test dress "next week" but one has never been done. They promised that I would receive pictures by June 1st or else a refund, and nothing. After 10 emails they finally responded that they are "too busy" to make my custom dress and if I want to receive a dress at all it must be one from their website. DO NOT ORDER FROM THEM unless you are having with having them steal your money and never give you a dress or a refund. Please do not make the same mistake that I did. Avoid Milly Bridal, they are liars and thiefs.

I ordered my dress from Milly in October. I'd seen a dress by Winnie Couture and fell in utter love. But there was NO way I was paying the $5k price tag. Nope. So I researched and found MIlly Bridal and decided to take the leap...I'd read nothing but great things and knew this was the right choice for me! I ordered the dress in October and received it in December. It was STUNNING and PERFECT!!! None of my guests could believe I paid just over $250 for my dress. The craftsmanship was unbelievable and Annie and everyone at Milly were very accommodating! Each change was quickly made & everything was perfect! I would recommend Milly!

I sent photos of two dresses I liked to this Chinese dressmaker and told them which components of each I liked. They produced something that was close enough to my vision to be satisfied. I took a total risk in going this way but I ended up with a quality dress that was exactly how I wanted it for about 1/4 the price. The quality was identical to that of dresses I tried on in bridal shops and it came in about a month after I ordered it. Great place to do business.

I found out about this dress company in the book "Bridal Bargains". There are a few other bridal dress sites from China that are not reliable, but this company has an eBay store with a 97-98% positive feedback rating in addition to their online store (millybridal) so I figured it was safe. Also, their website shows pictures of the dresses they have made on dressforms, not pictures of dresses on models taken from other designers. My questions were answered promptly, the fabric of the dress was identical to the swatch I requested, and the dress was amazing (lace hand-sewn onto the train, lots of beadwork) - no one could believe that I paid $215 plus $60 shipping! They give you a range of how long it will take them to make the dress once you order it, and mine took the maximum amount of time, but I emailed them on the day it was supposed to be finished and they promptly emailed me back with the DHL tracking number. I took a risk and thought if it didn't work out I'd still have time to buy a dress from a local bridal store, but there was no need - the dress arrived well before the wedding and it was really beautiful! I have already recommended this company to my friends who are getting married.
The only down-side is that you can't try on the dresses, but I was able to find similar dresses at local bridal stores and try those on to get an idea of what cut/style I wanted.