Bridal shop in NJ honors service members with free dresses on Veterans Day
MORRISTOWN, N.J. (WABC) -- A bridal store in New Jersey honors service members in a different kind of way - with free dresses.
'I Do I Do' in Morristown gives away 100 dresses every Veterans Day to brides-to-be who serve or who are marrying an active service member.
This is the owner's way of paying it forward.
There was a line to get into the shop before it opened Wednesday morning:
"I wouldn't have been able to get this dress," one bride said.
There were tears, but mostly tears of joy.
Veterans Day is the staff's favorite day at "I Do, I Do" Bridal Boutique.
"I was a medic in the Navy, stationed with the Marines," a bride said.
They are honoring those who serve and the women who are marrying those who serve.
"My fiance is in the Army, he was deployed to Afghanistan for 11 months," another bride said.
The gowns given for free to the first 100 brides sell for $2,000 to $4,000. The owner is proud to pamper women who serve, and the wives who wait.
"I feel we don't focus on the women, they should have a gift for doing what they do," said Leia Marley, co-owner of "I Do, I Do".
The staff makes the day unforgettable.
"I've never heard of anyone doing this. It's a great way to give back, amazing that they're doing it," said Christina Barletta, a bride-to-be.
"When I heard about this, I knew I was going to cry all day. Its overwhelming," said Amanda Shea-Miller, a bride-to-be.
On Veterans Day, the shop isn't just filled with brides-to-be, there are mothers, aunts and cousins crying while seeing the ladies for the first time in wedding gowns.
It was a very special day for mother of Marine groom Aaron Aluzzi who is marrying Christina. She is handing down the ring her father gave to her mother, while the two of them were in a Nazi concentration camp.
"Somehow in all the misery, my father bartered to get this to give to my mother. I wore it, my sister wore it, and Christina will wear it," she said.
Tune in to Eyewitness News at 5 to see the story!
