A beautiful bride ditched her expensive wedding dress on the big day after falling in love with her grandmother’s 50-year-old floral lace number.
Connie Bell, 21, nee Pickup, decided to keep her £1,000 “simple” wedding dress in reserve for her special day for the same dress her granny Margaret White, 71, wore on her wedding day in 1966 - and it was a perfect fit.
When bride Connie was told her wedding venue had been cancelled two weeks before her wedding - her grandmother decided to cheer her up by showing her the dress she wore.
The floral-sleeved lace number - which cost £50 at the time - needed no physical alterations apart from a good dry clean which cost £70 after spending decades in a loft.
But encased in the delicate lace were pieces of confetti which had lasted half-a-century - and Connie decided to “keep in” after “completely fell in love” with the dress Margaret wore when she exchanged nuptials with Michael 50 years ago on Saturday (March 26).
It looked very trendy even now because the lace sleeves are really in trend now - the other one was just a simple dress but had cost me £1,000.
“Fashion always comes around again and Connie looked beautiful in it.” said her mum.
Connie, who married electrician Sam Bell, 24, at The Crown Hotel in Harrogate, North Yorks., on November 14, 2015 said: “It didn’t even come into my mind about wearing and my venue got cancelled
“Two weeks before my wedding The Balmoral in Harrogate got cancelled - she wanted to cheer me up.
“After securing my grandma’s dress - it then spurred me on to find a venue two weeks before the big day and we managed to find another hotel. It must have been fate.”
Speaking about the reception of her wedding dress, Connie, a educational building supervisor, said: “There were actual tears when I tried it on - but a lot of people were surprised and shocked that it was my grandma’s dress and was 50 years old.
“I really wanted to wear it from the moment I tried it on - there was no going back. It still had confetti from the day the dress was worn in 1966 so I just had to keep that on there.
“The dress has a rose around the belt and had some confetti in it. At first I was worried that the dress wouldn’t fit because my grandma was tiny when she was younger - I couldn’t believe it when it was the perfect fit.”
In true similar style the newlyweds enjoyed a honeymoon in London - which was the same destination for Connie and Michael 50 years earlier.
Speaking about her relationship with her grandmother, Connie added: “She is my best friend. I also walked down the aisle to a few Elvis Presley tracks because she goes mad for the King.
“She [Margaret] has had a big impact on my life. A lot of her mannerisms are the same as mine, she doesn’t like butter - so I don’t have butter. There’s a lot of things like that.
“The wedding was all about my grandma in the end - people do say we are partners in crime.”
Connie celebrated with her grandmother and family on Saturday (March 26) for Margaret and Michael’s golden wedding anniversary.
Source - www.mirror.co.uk
