Most brides-to-be will share with you their enthusiasm and the tremendous pressure they feel to locate the perfect dress for their wedding.
Some brides may stress out for days, weeks, or even months while looking for the wedding gown that best suits their vision.
Although almost everyone eventually finds the outfit they’re looking for, finding it isn’t always simple.
Not at all.
Serena Stoneberg Lipari, one newlywed, fortunately avoided having to go on the terrible quest for her dream gown. Why? Since she already owned one and it had been in her family for 72 years, I suppose…
Serena, 27, reportedly told the Washington Post: ‘There was no doubt that I would become the eighth bride to wear the dress.'[
Although Serena’s grandmother Adele is no longer alive, several other family members joined her for a portrait in the church.
They had all had a chance to wear the long-sleeved gown, which featured a floor-length train, a high collar, and tiny, exquisite buttons going down the back.
Serena remarked, ‘The emotion hit me as I started to go down the aisle and thought about my grandma also wearing the dress.” On the day of my wedding, ‘I felt a tremendous connection to her.’
It goes without saying that Serena’s wedding was a very special occasion, made even more lovely by a dress that has now been worn an amazing eight times.
When Adele married Roy Stoneberg in 1950, she was the first to put on the gown, starting an incredibly lovely family tradition.
Eleanor Larson Milton, 90, the maid of honor at the wedding, Adele’s sister, said of the outfit she ultimately chose, ‘It was nicely constructed and timeless.’
The dress was next worn by Eleanor in 1953, then by her sister Sharon Larson Frank in 1969, Adele’s daughter Sue Stoneberg McCarthy in 1982, Eleanor’s daughter Carole Milton Zmuda in 1990, Carole’s sister Jean Milton Ellis in 1991, Jean’s cousin Julie Frank Mackey in 2013, and finally Serena in 2017.
We want to believe that the dress provides good luck because everyone who has been married in it has experienced a long-lasting, happy marriage, Julie added.
For many future weddings, ‘We aim to continue to maintain the dress—and the tradition.’ Larson, Sharon The outfit is supposedly being cleaned and cared for by Frank so that future family women might wear it.
To assist the bodice maintain its shape, I put it in a sealed box and place a little [mannequin-like] form on top, said Sharon.
What a wonderful custom to have! You may disagree with me, but I believe the clothing is just as gorgeous today as it was in 1950.