07/12/2026
Words by Bride Kendra :
When I was a teenager, I worked at a bridal gown store. This was during the Royal Wedding summer, with Kate Middleton’s gorgeous lace dress. I’d never envisioned a big wedding or a specific dress for myself, but when I saw her dress, I knew that if I ever got married, I’d want a lace dress similar to hers.
Not long after that, one day I walked into work and spotted a $50 rack of vintage wedding dresses, which included The One! I used my 50% employee discount and paid just $25 for a vintage lace wedding dress I wasn’t even sure I’d ever wear.
For the next 14 years, I kept the dress in a box that moved across the world and back with me, but I never tried it on again. When we set the date for our City Hall wedding, I knew I had to pull it out once and for all to see if 1) it fit, and 2) I even liked the way it looked.
The day before our wedding, I decided to try it on (which left enough time to run to Anthropologie in the 99% chance it didn’t fit after 14 years). BUT! Once it was on, it fit like a dream. Like it had been waiting this whole time for this exact moment to be worn.
It felt so special to reflect on the journey of my dress alongside our journey as a couple. Sixteen-year-old me hadn’t yet met my husband, but I knew that if and when I did, this dress was going to be perfect.
After the day ended and it came time to change out of The Dress, I knew its time in my closet had finally come to an end. I got the dress of a lifetime for the deal of a lifetime, and somebody else deserves to have the same special experience.
I decided to donate my vintage lace wedding dress so that someone else might stumble upon it the same way I did, at the perfect moment in time, and keep its fun little legacy alive. 🥰
