Many of us will only wear our wedding dress on that one special day in our lives, and as a result our precious gowns are left stored in the attic, in a suitcase or a dress bag, gathering dust in the years that follow.
One woman was adamant that she would make a difference with her gown however, and she decided to do something amazing with her special dress – she donated it to make outfits for babies who were stillborn or who died shortly after birth.
Yvonne Trimble, a Scottish woman now living in Cyprus, followed in the footsteps of many other brides by giving her dress to Cherished Gowns; a charity that creates outfits for tiny tots who have passed away.
After receiving photos of the burial gowns made from her wedding dress after New Year’s Day, Yvonne decided to share them online, to raise awareness for Cherished Gowns – and the result was unexpected and overwhelming.
Deciding in May 2015 that I would never wear my wedding dress again, I sent it to a charity that turns donated dresses...
Posted by Yvonne Trimble on Sunday, January 3, 2016
Her post, which went viral online, read: “A mix of emotions swept over me when I received them; pride that I'd done something good, sadness that it's necessary for these gowns to have to be made, relief that I've never known this heartbreak, and a sense of thankfulness that volunteers around the country give up their time to produce such comforting garments.”
Not only did her post receive thousands of shares and likes, but Yvonne was inundated with friend requests and personal messages thanking her for her wonderful gesture.
As well as drumming up much-needed publicity for Cherished Gowns, the response to her post left Yvonne completely taken aback.
Yesterday afternoon I posted photographs of some beautiful gowns that had been made from my wedding dress. I gave the...
Posted by Yvonne Trimble on Monday, January 4, 2016
In a moving follow-up post, she wrote: “It's all been a bit overwhelming; I seem to have spent most of today deleting friend requests (over 2,500 so far) and crying as I read the beautiful messages sent to my inbox. It's been very emotional as people have shared their tales of losing babies with me, but everyone has been so grateful for the attention this issue now has. There's not much I can say apart from thank you, thank you, thank you - none of this would have happened without you all sharing.”
We’re sure many more women will be moved to follow Yvonne’s example.
