Previously I began a discussion about wedding dresses. The significance of a wedding gown is very important to some families. In many cases wedding dresses are passed down from generation to generation. Brides wear the same dresses worn by their mothers, grandmothers, and soon to be mother-in-laws. The dress carries a great significance to the wedding and to the marriage.
However I came across one story of love in which a bride wore a wedding dress with even more significance than the passing down through the history of family brides.
The story all began when John Wakely was in World War II. While in the Red Devil Squadron in the Marine Corps, he found a parachute on Okinawa. After returning home, he met Lorraine Ladd when she came to get the mail where his father was the postmaster.
He invited her to a Valentine’s Day dance and later they were engaged in 1946. When she learned of the wedding, John’s mother suggested that the parachute that John found be used for Lorraine’s wedding dress.
The parachute was very nice and soft and Lorraine went along with the idea. A seamstress used the parachute and made Lorraine a skirt and a lace top. In 1947, John and Lorraine were married in Danielson.
After seven children and 61 years of marriage the couple is still together and Lorraine still has the dress. She offered it to her daughter when she got married but it was discovered that the dress was in less than perfect condition with pin holes.
Lorraine and John’s marriage began with much meaning with the gown that she wore. Their marriage continued with the same meaningful bond.
I think that this is one of the most unique and special stories of a bride’s wedding dress that I have ever heard.