Bride who couldn't afford a wedding gown decided to make it - then came a $3,000 gift from stranger
For a bride, her wedding gown is one of the most special items to adorn herself with. Many women have the luxury of bringing their dream gown into reality for their wedding day. Unfortunately, others cannot afford a basic wedding gown and have to make strenuous efforts to get something decent. Margaret Hyde, too, had a vision of the type of wedding attire she wanted to wear but due to several reasons, she couldn't afford the same, per Nice News. The woman then decided to make a gown for herself until the magic happened and Gwendolyn Stulgis came into the picture. Stulgis had tied the knot a few weeks before and was looking to donate her dream gown to a worthy recipient.
Sharing in a post on Facebook, Stulgis was happy to give away her gown so another bride could have the gown of her dreams. Having picked the perfect $3000 attire, the woman wanted to ensure her dream dress would go to someone who treasured it as much as her. “I want it to go to a woman who deserves to have the dress of her dreams but can’t afford one or settled for something more than her price range. I felt gorgeous in it and want someone else to feel how I felt,” Stulgis wrote. She then laid out a criteria for the bride who would receive the precious gown. “I want this person to have a wedding date within the next 3 months and I want it dry cleaned and passed on to another woman and keep going as long as the dress can stand. This will include the slip that goes underneath. Roughly $3,000 in value,” she explained.
The motive was to ensure that the gown was the dream companion of as many brides as possible on their special day. “There is no real sense to box up such a beautiful dress,” she added. Right enough, Hayde, the bride-to-be was stunned to come across the post and as Stulgis wanted, she explained why she hoped to be the next person to adorn the wedding gown. With several requests, Stulgis picked Hyde as the lucky winner. “I was in complete shock; I felt extremely loved. I’m looking forward to feeling like a princess for a day,” Hayde said, per Business Insider. It was an illuminating experience for Stulgis to see another’s wish come true in the most wholesome way. With her post, many others were moved to donate their wedding gowns.
Seeing the enthusiasm, Stulgis launched “Shared Dream Dresses,” a group on Facebook, for brides to donate their dresses to to-be brides so they can have the same pretty, beautiful and elegant experience as the others. Diana Bowman, one of the dress donors, was glad to be a part of the good cause, per NPR. "For me, it was also a different experience because I'm a plus-sized woman and finding a wedding dress in plus sizes is really, really difficult. So if I could take that stress away from somebody by passing along a beautiful plus-size gown, I was like, I have to do it,” she exclaimed. With thousands of members as part of the “Shared Dream Dresses,” there is much scope for this act of giving, per PEOPLE. The group is also catering to donating bridesmaids, mother-of-the-bride and several other outfits to make a dream come true, one dress at a time!