A custom wedding dress certainly had a nice ring to it — until TikToker Josephine Pepa laid eyes on her designer’s crummy couture creation.
The melancholy Mrs., who got married in September, posted a series of videos lamenting gown shopping and dealing with a disappointing designer. She said she was prepared to shell out $7,000 to the unnamed dressmaker, who shocked her with a garment that was nothing like her vision.
“I’m finally able to laugh about my wedding dress nightmare,” Pepa starts one clip, which has attracted nearly a million views since it was posted last month.
Pepa said she believed the designated designer was reputable, as she had fashioned a gown for a good friend.
“She designed her dress, [and it was] stunning, amazing, perfection, chef’s kiss,” Pepa exclaimed. “So I was like, perfect!”
Pepa showed the inspiration for her own gown — a sweeping white dress with a structured bodice and long sleeves covered in pearls, a plunging neckline and a full silk skirt.
The TikToker showed a picture of the dress she allegedly showed the designer. TikTok/@jpepaa
The bride-to-be was horrified when she saw the actual dress.TikTok/@jpepaa
Unfortunately, the dress she allegedly received didn’t meet expectations, with Pepa admitting there were a few red flags when she went to her first fitting.
“The dress is like a skeleton,” she recalled. “So I’m like, ‘OK, it’s obviously [not] what it’s supposed to look like.’ “
Before showing viewers the final design — which she claims was presented to her two months before the big day — Pepa confessed she had “legit trauma” from the experience.
“First, I have a kangaroo pouch,” she says, revealing that the pictures show she’s “smiling through the pain.”
Pepa pointed out pearls had to be hot glued onto the bodice because the bra cups were showing through the transparent material. The pearls persisted in “popping off,” Pepa professed.
“I was sobbing,” she admitted. “I’m like, ‘Get this dress off of me.’ “
Pepa claimed her designer popped off as well, “cursing her out” following her fitting. She shared a message she said she sent to the designer, telling her she didn’t want to move forward with the dress.
TikTokers sided with the bride.
“I feel like the design was simply not in the designer’s wheelhouse WHICH IS FINE but they should have known their limitations and been upfront about it,” one user declared.
“Okay but why does it look like a Shein wedding dress,” snickered another.
In a follow-up TikTok, Pepa said she ended up with not one, but two dresses she loved for the 500-person affair after visiting a bridal salon following her frustrating fitting.
“I didn’t care if I didn’t get my deposit back,” she admitted, saying she chose a Marchesa gown for the ceremony and a Vera Wang dress for the end of the reception.
“Oh my god that could not have turned out better, that dress was MADE for you,” one user gushed under the video.
“Gorgeous!! Process may have been messy but it was meant to be lol,” agreed another.
