Weddings are always very special but they come with plenty of preparation.
A guest list needs to be made, flowers need to be ordered, food needs to be catered. On top of all the stuff the families do for the wedding guests, the bride and groom also have to arrange for their own wedding attire—and it has to be perfect! Although many wedding dresses get worn once and then thrown away or never worn again, this often seems like a waste.
One woman in Boise, Idaho named Jordyn Cleverly decided to turn that tradition on its head.
Instead of buying a new dress, Cleverly wanted to wear her widowed grandmother’s wedding dress.
Still, she decided to take the decision even further. Cleverly was able to get the dress from her grandmother, Penny Jensen, without her noticing. The dress itself was a beautiful, long-sleeve gown with lace from 1962. After getting it restored by a seamstress, Cleverly wanted to invert another time-honored wedding tradition.
Instead of the groom getting the “first look,” she wanted that honor to go to her grandmother.
When she was ready to reveal the surprise—just two days before the wedding—Cleverly had cameras ready.
Cleverly hired professional photographer Kortney Peterson to document the entire thing and snuck away from the rehearsal dinner to put the dress on. Some clouds were gathering that morning as the family got Cleverly and Jensen into place. Cleverly says Jensen immediately knew what was going on:
“I think the light bulbs started going off when she saw me going toward her. You don’t forget what your wedding dress looks like.”
Jensen had become a widow only years before Cleverly was born—and seeing the dress brought many emotions to the surface.
Both women were soon in tears as rain also began to fall. They embraced one another and the photographers were there to capture the entire moment. After a few moments, Cleverly decided that there were enough photographs:
“When I finally didn’t want the photographer to catch any more ugly crying, I hugged [my grandma] and she whispered, ‘I married my high school sweetheart in this dress,’ and she paused for a second while she caught her breath, and said, ‘now so will you.’”
The moment between Jensen and Cleverly is a beautiful gesture of love.
It’s also a reminder that our wedding days can be whatever we want them to be! Rather than spend money on a new dress to only wear once, Cleverly decided to craft a truly special moment for her and her grandmother instead. Judging by the pictures, that money was better spent on the photographer anyway!
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