94-year-old great-grandmother puts on a wedding dress for the first time—and her reaction was the cherry on top
Many women dream of trying on a wedding dress from the time they are little girls. While some have exact specifications for their big day, others, unfortunately, cannot witness the grand feeling. 94-year-old Martha Mae Ophelia Moon Tucker was one of these. Her dream of wearing a wedding dress remained incomplete, even on her wedding day, AL News revealed. When she expressed her wish out of the blue to her granddaughter, Angela Strozier, she was stunned that she took it seriously and immediately got to work. At 94, the woman got to see herself in a wedding gown and the feeling was beyond ethereal.
The elderly woman married Lehman Tucker Sr. in 1952. Unfortunately, because she was a black woman, she wasn’t allowed in bridal shops. Even on her big day, she didn’t have the opportunity to wear a white gown of her dreams. She held on to it for decades, even after her husband passed away in 1975. She never wanted to remarry, but trying a wedding piece remained on her list. After all, there was a little girl inside her who still held the spark and excitement to wonder what she’d look like in the attire. “I’ve always wanted to try on a wedding dress,” Tucker told Strozier on a random day.
She didn’t quite expect the woman to take her so seriously as to make it truly happen. However, Strozier was ready to bring her vision to life. “I said, ‘That’s no problem.’ She kinda brushed me off. She didn’t think I would do it,” the granddaughter remarked. But she wasted no time; she immediately contacted David’s Bridal in Hoover and got an appointment. Tucker couldn’t walk very well but many soon joined hands with Strozier to give the elderly woman a dreamy vision when she stood in front of the mirror. A Birmingham makeup artist, Pharris Clayton, offered to do her makeup in a car so she would be ready before she entered to try the gown.
“Everyone was so elated to help me do that for her,” the granddaughter joyfully recalled. She arrived at the store and when her story was revealed, the staff got to work, giving her an experience of a lifetime. In a glimpse shared by the outlet, the grandmother walked out of the trial room, the white gown finally adorning her body and her veil adding to the exquisite look. “When she walked out of the room and saw herself in the mirror, she said, ‘Oh, look at me,’’' Strozier recalled. The experience was so surreal that “one of the other brides that was in there started crying.”
The gown hit right in the feels, bringing to mind her wedding day from decades ago. “I felt like I was getting married,’' Tucker said. She didn’t want to take off the gown and felt so good flaunting it. “You know, I can’t even express how special it was. It was too special,’' Tucker remarked. The little girl in her was finally at peace, her smile evident through the 94-year-old's delight. “I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time,” she added. Strozier turned Tucker's hope into a priceless reality. “She’s our grandmother, and to have a grandmother so full of life at 94 is a blessing,” the woman said.
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