Last summer I happened to find a gorgeous Reem Acra gown for sale on Ebay at a ridiculously low price. I was absolutely compelled to buy it even though it wouldn't fit me and I didn't know what I would really do with it.
Isn't she pretty? I call her Pink Ribbons.
I also happened to stumble upon a fantastic charity last summer called Brides Against Breast Cancer. They accept your wedding gown as a donation and sell the collected gowns at events they hold across the nation. Then the proceeds are used to make wishes come true for women who's breast cancer is beyond a cure. I had the pleasure of attending their event last summer in Miami and they ROCK!
And poof, kismet, magic! The reason I bought the dress, that at the time was unclear to me, became obvious. I am going to donate this exquisite dress to Brides Against Breast Cancer. It should fetch a handsome sum being that it's made of luxurious silk and the beading is incredibly detailed and made by a very skilled artisan's hands. Need I mention that it's a dress with the pink ribbons built right in and being sold at breast cancer event?! Damn, that's just too good.
But I want to show it off a little first. :) So, at our wedding I want to have a few mannequins/dress forms set up at the cocktail hour. I would love to display our families heirloom gowns from yesteryear (i.e. my grandmother's wedding dress from the 1950s and my great-grandmother's gown from the 1920s). Next to the gowns, I want to put a framed photo of each of them on their wedding days as well as recreate their bouquets to be placed artfully next to the gowns, hopefully evoking sweet memories and a few happy tears. This to preserve and enjoy a little family history at such a special time. Then next to the family gowns I want to display "Pink Ribbons" in all her glory and display a framed paragraph or two of what Brides Against Breast Cancer is all about. I will include a note that says how the dress ended up in my possesion and how it will be donated and loved by someone new after our wedding.
Every once in a while things work out nicely.
