The Dress

Custom Couture Claire Pettibone Ophelia Gown
I truly cannot overstate how STUNNING this dress is. A million times over, it is genuinely the most gorgeous wedding dress I've ever laid eyes on. I had this custom made by Claire herself at The Castle in West Hollywood in 2020 for my winter elopement in Yosemite that year. Claire was amazing to work with & experiencing her attention to detail first hand was just magical.

This dress features 3 layers of material - an ecru silk chiffon layer followed by 2 layers of hand stitched French lace in champagne and gold, topped with lavender embroidery, 3-D hand stitched florals in soft blues & greens then embellished with pearls and beads. The dress sits perfectly at the waist then cascades into a beautiful train. It's every bit as dreamy as it sounds & I truthfully can't find a single photo that actually gives this dress the justice it deserves.

This dress was custom made by Claire over 11 months as a split size 6, with an extra 3/4” of material added around the top to the neckline (all the way around). My bust size is 34DD & I wanted the extra security up front. Padded bra cups were also sewn in. I also had Claire add a very subtle 3 point bustle to the back of the dress on all 3 layers, however I ended up never bustling it... and as a result struggle these days to find the hooks & points where they would attach since I never actually used them.

Only worn for one day that included 8 hours of hoisting it up to hike through Yosemite for photos - there is a TINY amount of wear on the 3rd most hidden layer of silk from where it occasionally swept the ground - but it is completely hidden & hardly noticeable even if you're looking for it. It was dry cleaned after wear but has simply been hanging in its bag in the back of my closet since, and is just WAY too stunning to not be worn & loved in the way it deserves.
I’m 5’4” & wore this with lace up boots (about 2” height) then changed into hiking boots.
Includes a mauve colored hand knit shoulder shawl with silk mauve ribbon that was custom made by a designer in Turkey that I ended up not wearing.

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If you're looking for something a little unique & nontraditional (or colorful) but still feminine & timeless, this is the one.