The Brides' Project

Archive for February, 2012

Could you find two happier people? We think not. Kimberly and Stephen were married just last month and Kimberly has already brought the dress back to us, ready to make another bride happy on her wedding day.

Could you think of anything more selfless to do after your wedding day?

After you read Kim’s story, if you are inspired to love and be loved and share your love with others, we know we’re doing something special here — much more than selling wedding dresses.

An excerpt from Kim’s email, shared with her permission:

Our background and planning our wedding:

We met over 4 years ago at a course for work involving computer programming.  We had lunch every day for four days during the course and then Stephen asked me to dinner afterwards and we’ve been together ever since. We were engaged in July 2011 and our wedding took place at the Glenerin Inn on January 14th, 2012 on a very cold, but beautiful sunny day with snow on the ground.  The Glenerinn was a cozy warm respite from the weather and was the perfect venue for our wedding of just over 100 guests. Over the course of our relationship, we’ve made a lot of decisions based on a gut feeling of just “feeling right”.  It was how we first said “I love you”, how we decided to move in together, to purchase our first condo and here, to pick our wedding venue.

The dress story:

For many reasons, we decided to have a quick engagement.  We were 5 months away from our wedding, so I knew going the traditional bridal salon route was not for me.  I decided to take a look at second hand and off the rack options.  I had considered making an appointment at another shop selling second hand dresses, and when I googled to find their phone number, The Bride’s Project came up in the search.

I was happy that TBP was much closer to me and I was floored that all of the proceeds went to cancer charities. Stephen and I have both been touched by cancer in more ways than anyone should be, so checking out the store became a first priority because it “felt right”.  We both support cancer charities including the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation through various running events. We both ran the 2011 Scotiabank half marathon in support of the Molly & David Bloom foundation that funds drug development for Multiple Myeloma (a blood cancer) at PMH.

I brought my bridesmaid Tawnya along with me.  I loved the setup of TBP – organizing each room by size so you never have to leave the room to check out other dresses.  We picked a few out and this dress was the first one I tried on.  We nicknamed her “Miss Chastity Belt” because there was an inner belt in the dress before zippering from the outside.  Miss CB fit perfectly and it pretty much had all of the elements I was looking for – A-line, lightweight, detailed beading, sweetheart neckline, and intricate back. Tawnya agreed that it was fantastic, but she knew it was her duty to persuade me to try on other dresses.  It was hard to take off.  I tried on some others, which I don’t remember now, and immediately went back to Miss CB.  Again, it “felt right”, so it was a done deal.  I purchased her on the spot, and drove her over to Tawnya’s place for safe keeping.

The dress worked perfectly for me on our wedding day.  I was able to sit, move and dance easily and the bustle my seamstress installed held up well. Most of all, I felt wonderful in it, and that’s what a wedding dress should do for a bride. After the wedding, there was no doubt in my mind about returning Miss CB back to the Bride’s Project. When I returned the dress, there was a lot of evidence that I had a pretty good time in it, but I now know that it’s not a big deal to get it cleaned. I told one of my friends Josephine about Bride’s Project and she became interested in becoming a volunteer. I waited until one of her shifts to come over with Miss CB to donate her back.  It was a little emotional, but I’m very happy about the decision.  Hopefully another bride will love her just the same as I did.

All the best to you,
~Kimberly McCormick

*sniff*

Kimberly, THANK YOU from the bottom of our volunteer hearts for taking the time to write to us, to let us be a tiny part of your Beautiful Day, and to give us the opportunity to make another bride happy. Our donations to cancer charities are only possible with brides like you who support us in so many ways! We wish you and Stephen all the happiness in the world!

Brides-to-be, you would be hard-pressed to find a dress with more good karma. Click on any of the thumbnails to view the dress photos larger.

All photos by Travis Allison, you can find more of his work here: http://subtlevoxphotography.com/

Got plans for next Sunday, February 26?

Why not take in the picturesque town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and attend the annual Vintage Hotels Wedding Show. It’s on from noon-4pm. The show takes place in three of the Vintage Hotels — Prince of Wales, Queens Landing, and Pillar & Post — which means a much more relaxed atmosphere than the big trade shows at the convention centres. They even shuttle you between the properties (all of which are in town).

The Brides’ Project will have a booth at Queens Landing. Stop by, ask questions, say hello!

Award winning recording artist David Myles writes beautiful love songs and often receives touching letters from brides who use his songs for their weddings.

To celebrate Valentine’s Day and an upcoming show that David will be performing in Toronto, he will be giving away one of his songs, “I Will Love You” for free. You can download it here in two formats:

I Will Love You (Acoustic) – MP3 (3.5 MBs)
I Will Love You (.wav format) (31.5 MBs)

March 24, 2012
@ CBC Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto, ON)
Start Time: 8:00 PM
Price: $29.50
Buy Tickets

David’s website: http://www.davidmyles.com

Laura generously donated her beautiful strapless Mori Lee wedding gown to us last week with a note:

I had a fabulous time in this dress on an absolutely magical day. I hope that some other lucky lady can feel the same way!

Laura was also kind enough to put together some pictures and information about the dress for the future lucky bride:

• Designer: Mori Lee
• style 2856
• Size 8
• colour: off white
• lace up back makes a perfect fit for multiple sizes
• strapless with sweetheart neckline
• Swarovski beading at top and where ruched
• altered for height around 5’4″/5’5″
• comes with matching shawl and removable panel for back
• 3 bustle ties underneath

Laura, thank you for sharing your wedding joy with others and helping us raise funds for cancer charities!

Ladies, Mori Lee dresses don’t last long in the shop, make an appointment to try it on.

Click on the images to view larger (all photos except mannequin by Azure Blue Photography):

We get the best mail, seriously. We were incredibly touched to receive this one from Meagan Joy, who was married last autumn in a wedding gown purchased from us and is already planning to bring it back along with other dresses she will be collecting for us.

I have attached a pic from our wedding Sept 16th 2011. 1 pic of our wedding party, as well 1 of Myself, husband and Mother-in-law. I purchased my dress from you, and will be returning it in the near future. Not only did I purchase my dress due to the good cause I was supporting, it is a slightly sentimental subject as well. Our wedding was slightly rushed due to my mother-in-law being diagnosed with breast cancer in February of 2011, and has now spread to her bones, kidney and brain.

I want to say THANK YOU for doing such and amazing thing.

Meagan Joy, thank for you for everything: buying from us, sharing your wedding story with us, donating the dress back, and helping us with more dress donations. We simply couldn’t do what we do, without you!

Photos: Gerri Photography

Nicole donated her dress to us a couple of weeks ago and we’re sure it’ll be headed right back out the door again. It’s perfectly suited to her gorgeous outdoor nuptials:  strapless yet low-maintenance (a bodice that stays put!), beaded overlay, A-line with a sweep train, this dress has it all!

Donating the dress has been a nice trip down memory lane.  I hadn’t looked at the dress or these pictures in awhile and it was great taking a look back.  It was a perfect, perfect day.  I really hope someone else loves this dress as much as I did.

Nicole, we’re sure to find your dress a new home with someone who will love it, too! Our very best wishes to you and Mike for a lifetime of happiness together

Photographer: Daniel Lalande
Website: http://www.danphoto.ca/