Penelope’s

My daughter was referred to Penelope by a friend. As I live clear across the country, I was completely hands-​off the dress design process, which was a little scary, but I knew that she wanted a modest, ivory dress. I told her our budget, and that anything over that amount was up to her.
I did not see the dress until the wedding. I was amazed. It was absolutely beautiful, well-​made, and hand-​beaded. And it looked far more expensive than it was. My daughter was happy, I was happy, and she looked amazing.
When some of her pictures were being shot near the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., a group of Japanese photographers took the opportunity to take some pictures too. I’m sure that the beauty and unique style of the dress contributed to their fascination with the subject!

In December of 2006, my boyfriend of 8 months proposed to me on Christmas Eve. I can’t say I didn’t see it coming: we had been discussing marriage for the past 5 months, and I had already been semi-​planning the wedding secretly. I was just waiting for the ring like a racehorse waits for gunfire.
Now I could finally contact my chosen vendors and taste some cake. The problem was that I had been looking for months for a wedding dress that would satisfy the desires of both my inner child, with her fairy-​tale inspired princess-​dress dreams, and at the same time my current, more refined fashion appetite that channeled such icons as audrey, jackie, every Prada thing ever made. Further, I wanted to find a modest dress that I could wear to get sealed in a Temple, which is believed by my church to be a highly sacred House of God for those non-Mormon’s out there.
Well, after much searching I had at least made some solid decisions: No sequence, pearls, lace, or any embellishments. I wanted to focus on the quality of the fabric, lines, and construction of the dress, and I didn’t want the integrity of these key elements to be compromised by gaudiness. I wanted pure silk. I wanted beautiful ruching. I wanted mermaid style, old hollywood elegance. And I wanted it all under $ 3,000. Preferably under $ 2,000.
That’s where Penny, the dressmaker behind «Penelope’s» came in. She was referred to me by the same highly trusted source who recommended my photographer. Going to see Penny for the first time, I felt like I was Cinderella going to her fairy godmother with a pumpkin and some rats. I was sure I would get laughed at for my unrealistic desires, and talked into a standard, boring, mormon cut-​out of a dress (read: t-​shirt style short-​sleeved top, puffy A-​line skirt. Buttons down back. Long veil.) I was all but shaking.
But that was not the case! Penny listened and took notes, and even presented me with a book of silk samples to choose from. She sketched out the dress with my direction, and then quoted me a price that almost took the wind out of me. I wanted to shout from the rooftops– «The Church is True!!!» (Also, a Mormon reference. Sorry.)
And so my perfect dress was constructed. The end.