Yes, specially when people compare the cost of a wedding dress with a fast fashion dress. The fashion dress will sell thousands, the buyer will expect very little help from salespeople, little alterations (so no need to have a seamstress, alterations room, marking, etc), not to mention simpler construction, etc.
A wedding dress salon will only see a few people each day, since each bride requires a dedicated salesperson for a good while. Each style will sell fewer dresses, with more customization, so the costs won't be diluted as much (designing, setting up, marketing, etc as well as the cost to have dresses made to more measurements - bust, waist, shoulder - instead of a simple size set). A salon needs to maintain a large inventory of sample dresses, which tie up money (whether the salon's or the maker's doesn't really matter, as it goes into the value chain regardless and has to be paid for at some point) and require a lot of square footage, which also costs money.
I wish more people understood the value chain of products before criticizing price. The writer decided that the dress shop was out to get her, instead of thinking why things are that way. Why is there an appointment? Because you need a dedicated salesperson to carry huge dresses out, help you into them, pin them so the sample dress fits and so on. Why the questionaire? Because a bridal shop is not organized like a clothes store, where everything is out on the floor. Since the dresses can be delicate and dirty easily, they can't really be out on the floor. There is often a lot more dress choices than would be viable to put out on display. So, the shop asks questions to understand what the bride wants and is willing to pay, so they can show her what she wants, instead of pulling out every sheath, mermaid, ballgown, empire, lace, bead and satin in stock.
She didn't even bother to do a little basic research first. It is quite easy to identify the high end, beginning at $4000 salon or the more cost conscious alternative.
Sure there are people out to scalp the client and squeeze every possible dime out of them. But, generally, the open market does weed these out, specially in a competitive industry like bridal.