‘Say Yes to the Dress’ designer Pnina Tornai was rejected after flying 12 hours for a meeting, but soon after, she got the phone call that changed her career

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Pnina Tornai is featured on the hit TLC show “Say Yes to the Dress.”

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Fernanda Calfat/Getty Images

• Pnina Tornai started her bridal business 30 years ago in a
  small shop with a single mirror in Tel Aviv, Israel. Today she sees 90
  to 120 brides per day on weekends at Kleinfeld, a renowned
  bridal store in New York City.
• Before brides were saying “yes” to Tornai’s wedding
  dresses at Kleinfeld, she was rejected from
  selling gowns in the bridal store because her designs were “too
  bady.”
• Instead of giving up, Tornai went home and created a
  collection of dresses that could adapt to American bridal
  fashion. Two weeks later, Kleinfeld’s owner called her and said
  the dresses were selling like crazy.

Before brides were saying “yes” to Pnina Tornai’s wedding dresses
at Kleinfeld, she was rejected from selling gowns in
the bridal store because her designs were deemed “too bady.”

Pnina Tornai started her bridal business 30 years ago in a small
shop with a single mirror in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Tornai connected with Kleinfeld – a renowned bridal store in New
York City now featured on the TLC show “Say Yes to the Dress” –
when a bride’s father wanted to strike a deal with her for a more
affordable price on a gown, she told Business Insider on an
episode of our podcast “This Is Success.”

Two days later, Tornai had a set meeting at Kleinfeld in New York
City – a 12-hour flight from Tel Aviv.

“The next thing I knew was that I was on a plane with my
dresses on my way to Kleinfeld, and that wasn’t an easy
beginning,” Tornai said.

Read more: ‘Say Yes to the Dress’ designer
Pnina Tornai explains how she went from running a small shop in
Israel to one of the world’s most famous bridal
labels

“That was really not an easy beginning because I remember
the day where I came to Kleinfeld and showed my dresses, and the
buyer was looking at my dresses with a very weird face, saying,
‘We are never going to sell these dresses in America. These
dresses will never sell in America. They’re too bady; they’re too
daring.'”

On the 12-hour flight back to Tel Aviv, Tornai said she
cried until the plane touched down. Instead of giving up, she
went home and created a collection of dresses that could adapt to
American bridal fashion. She sent the collection back to
Kleinfeld with an email saying, “Please expose these dresses in
your store. If they don’t sell, send them back to me.”

Two weeks later, Tornai got a phone call from the owner of
Kleinfeld, who said the store had a problem with her dresses –
they sold too many and weren’t sure if Tornai could keep up with
the amount of orders.

“And the rest is history,” Tornai said.

For 13 years, Tornai traveled back and forth from Tel Aviv to New
York City on 12-hour flights to ensure her gowns flourished at
Kleinfeld.

Once Kleinfeld’s show “Say Yes To The Dress” took off
nine years ago, Tornai became one of the most requested designers
at the store. Today, the show airs in 120 countries and Tornai
sees 90 to 120 brides a day on weekends.

“It’s about my bride; it’s about my customer,” Tornai said.
“It’s being thankful to every opportunity I have in life. I don’t
take anything for granted.”