Madonna's wedding plans almost ruined by police
Madonna's costume designer has revealed how police almost stopped her wedding dress arriving on time.
Madonna's wedding dress almost didn't make it to her and Sean Penn's wedding.
The Queen of Pop tied the knot with her now ex-husband in 1985, and her longtime costume designer Marlene Stewart has recalled how the "hardest part" of working on the iconic gown was "getting it to the wedding".
She told Best magazine: "It was at a house in Malibu. The roads were inaccessible because the press were everywhere.
"We'd intended to do a fitting and take photographs. But the police stopped me! I insisted I had to get through.
"There were no cell phones, so you had pagers and I was just trying to page somebody!"
Marlene was "eventually" able to make it through with the gown.
She added: "Eventually, I got through and Herb Ritts [the photographer of Madonna's 'True Blue' album cover] took a photo of her getting ready in the bathroom, and I was under the dress, pulling up the garter belt!"
When it comes to the wedding look itself, Marlene was inspired by Madonna's own ideas for her outfit.
She recalled: "[Madonna] said, I'm going to wear a black bowler hat.' I wanted to balance the masculine for the dress and do classic feminine.
"The idea was that it was fun and provocative. I sketched out a classic, ballerina look: silk tulle, sweetheart neckline, very simple and clean."
Meanwhile, Marline hailed the 'Like A Prayer' icon - who divorce from Penn after just four years of marriage - as the "original influencer".
She said: "She was the original influencer! She stated her ideas in a way that was free at the time, and certainly controversial, because it hadn't been done by many female artists.
"The best thing about working with someone is that they're present, and they focus.
"She had that from the beginning... It really paved the way for young women to break through societal norms."
