I've seen the one in the first pic in all places Mexico! I guess that doesn't help you much. It may be tough to find one with the embroidery and depending how much time you have to hunt around, it may be easier to have made. Good luck!
Tough choice. Reading your post I thought, oh, over budget but then I saw the dress! It's lovely!!! I say if you can fit into your budget go for it. If you look at other dresses you'll probably be comparing it to this one. Have you tried it on?
We decided not to do it. Neither of us really thought it was something that we wanted as we're not doing a Catholic ceremony. My FI is not religious in any way but was willing to go through with it if I felt strongly about it.
I'd recommend simply letting your FI know that it's something that's important to you that you feel strongly about.
I'm so happy I found this thread. I'm going dress shopping in a couple of months so good to know that what I think will look good on me, won't necessarily. I'll keep an open mind and try not to drive my friends nuts.