Operation Bridal Gown Gives Dresses To Military Brides
ANDOVER (CBS) -- There are parades and ceremonies to commemorate Veterans Day, and then there are. . . bridal dresses?
It's called Operation Bridal Gown and on Tuesday there was a Veterans Day parade of brides-to-be at Tulle Bridal Shop in Andover.
Darsy Coti is an Air Force tech sergeant who's engaged to a firefighter.
"This is huge. It's the dress!" she said.
Rebecca McMahon is getting married next year and her fiance Jeff Vanguilder is a pilot.
"This is so wonderful," she said.
It's a May wedding for Erica Reynolds. The lucky man is Kevin Wallace, who's in the Army.
"I'm very picky. I tried on a million dresses and they're all wonderful," she said.
They all came to the bridal shop with 25 others future brides, looking for that special gown.
"We have a selection of dresses that are part of the program that they can pick out, and it's all for free," said Heidi Janson, who owns the shop and started Operation Wedding Gown/Brides Across America six years ago.
It's now a national program.
"I think it's just our duty to support our troops, and that's really what I felt compelled to do," Janson said.
"It relieves so many burdens. You just get to enjoy it more, and it's just a wonderful experience we get to share with them as well," says bride-to-be Darsy Coti.
The dresses range from intricate to elegant, from beaded to flowered. They're all donated by shops, designers and individuals.
"You don't realize how expensive a wedding is going to be until you start to plan one. This is more than I could have asked for," says Rebecca McMahon.
Operation Wedding Gown is happening in 42 bridal shops around the country. Since 2008 they've given out more than 14,000 wedding dresses.
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