Here’s a warm and fuzzy story to brighten a cold November day: An organization called Brides Across America is donating wedding dresses to brides who are serving or have a fiancé who is serving in the U.S. military. The  ongoing Wedding Gown Giveaway Events are being hosted at bridal salons across the country. Some of the designers involved in the program include Jim Hjelm, Vera Wang, Liancarlo, and Alfred Angelo to name a few.

Founder of Brides Across America Heidi Janson said, “There’s more in the mix than just giving away gowns. There’s also a community aspect to it,” which is why she chose to host the dress giveaway as a way to bring awareness to the areas of the participating bridal salons.

For couples where one or both are in military service, these would be brides and grooms often have to put off wedding plans for months or years because of deployments in the nation’s service. Since Brides Across America was founded in 2007 they’ve given away around 8,000 dresses to date, and their goal this year is to exceed 10,000 dresses by the end of this year!

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Bridal Reflections (premier bridal salon here in NYC) has partnered with Brides Across America to donate FREE gowns to military brides. This special event begins on Monday, June 25, in honor of Independence Day right around the corner.

Salons from multiple states across the country have joined to help create dreams come true for our troops. Go to BridesAcrossAmerica.com for a complete listing to find a salon near you, and help spread the word!

In order to for a bride to qualify, they must be engaged, be on active duty in the military, or have a fiancé on active duty in either Iraq or Afghanistan. All brides must show ID, copy of deployment papers, and order or other qualifying proof.

Each participating store will prepare a select number of gowns to give away. They may range from $500-$3,000 and will consist primarily of samples and overstock in sizes 4-22.

The gowns will be given away on a first-come, first serve basis.

A big thank you to our troops, and congratulations to all of our military brides!

>Bridal Reflections