GEORGETOWN — Many women dream about extravagant weddings with dazzling gowns that last for generations. This week, that dream came true for roughly 35 area brides-to-be who otherwise wouldn't have gowns to wear on their wedding day.
Brides Across America, a national effort to put wedding gowns on brides who are either serving in or marrying members of the military, has handed out 3,000 wedding gowns across the country free of charge in the last few years.
By Saturday, that number is expected to increase by 1,000 gowns, according to Heidi Janson, owner of Tulle Bridals of Georgetown and founder of Brides Across America.
"This is a business where it can be really stressful for a bride," Janson said. "It consumes the couple, especially the bride. It is really stressful when it should be a special time for them."
Janson began giving away gowns to military brides in 2008 out of her former store The Bridal Stock Exchange in Seabrook. Working with a network of other retailers and suppliers, she amassed 50 dresses and gave them away.
Word of the effort spread quickly, garnering national media attention, and the program's reach grew rapidly.
By last summer, Brides Across America included 18 stores across the country and more than 20 local and national sponsors. Her effort also was selected to be a part of Oprah Winfrey's Angel Network.
Over the past year, Janson moved her shop to Georgetown and changed the name to Tulle Bridals.
The motive has remained the same. For many couples with at least one member in the service, military obligations often prevent them from ever having a sufficient wedding ceremony, Janson said.
"If they get married by the justice of the peace and never get a wedding, it is nice to have something when they come back," Janson said. "They're dreaming of a wedding and not having the opportunity to have that. So to provide the gown for them, I think that is huge."
The bride's response to getting the gown for free, Janson said, is often pure elation.
"We hear them say, 'When he comes back, we're having a real wedding,'" Janson said. "You can tell. They get really excited."
Gina Kettner, 29, of Salem, N.H., said that her fiance's upcoming deployment to Iraq in September forced them to get married with only a month's notice. They tie the knot on Aug. 14 after getting engaged only last week following a relationship of three years.
"It kind of feels like Vietnam, getting married before he goes off to war," Kettner said.
But because of Brides Across America, the gown is one less thing for her to worry about, she said.
"Not a lot of people do a lot for people who are in service, so I think this is very sweet," she said as she held her wedding gown in her arms.
For Natasha Young, 29, of Haverhill, the offer of a free gown was almost too good to be true.
"I saw it and I didn't believe it," Young, a Marine recruiter in Lawrence and veteran of the war in Iraq, said. "One of my concerns was that there's always a catch. But there was no catch. I walked right into a dress completely for free, no strings attached."
She almost deleted the e-mail that told her about free wedding gowns. But the offer, she said, ultimately helped reaffirm her decision to serve in the military.
"Because I am a recruiter, I come across people every day who don't appreciate what we do," she said. "Every once in a while, somebody comes along who reaffirms the decisions I've made in serving, so I'm very thankful."
Army 2nd Lt. Justin Rose, 27, of Wrentham, drove an hour and a half with his fiance's sister, who tried dresses on the bride-to-be's behalf because she couldn't get the day off from work.
Rose leaves for Afghanistan next week and he won't return until just before his wedding next September, he said.
"This is awesome," Rose said. "It is awesome that she not only did this at the local level, she did it nationwide. You can't get a whole lot of money in the military, so any kind of help is tremendous."
Though the week is almost over, the event will continue later in the year. It is scheduled to run again this coming Veterans Day, Janson said.
