Disney to Offer Gowns for Princess Brides

Walt Disney Co. is looking to grab a bigger piece of the wedding cake, and feed its burgeoning Princess business, with a new line of character-inspired bridal gowns aimed at women who want to look and feel like Cinderella at the ball on their big day.

The 34 gowns by designer Kirstie Kelly were inspired by princesses from Disney films like "Sleeping Beauty" and "Beauty and the Beast" and mark the latest effort by Disney to steer its weddings business toward higher-end nuptials.

Disney instructed Kelly to base her gown designs on those characters in a bet that the popularity of the Disney Princess line of products for girls, which racked up $3.4 billion in worldwide sales last year, would carry over to brides who grew up with Disney.

"We do 'being a princess' better than anyone," Korri McFann, marketing manager for Disney Fairy Tale Weddings and Honeymoons, said in an interview.

Kelly's gowns, which debuted on a New York catwalk on Sunday, range in price from $1,500 to $3,000, below couture prices but above the average wedding dress price of $1,000. The price point is aimed at a generation of couples who are getting married older and paying for their own celebrations, Disney said.