Is Very Proud to be Participating in

"Fatigues to Free Wedding Dresses"

As a gesture of gratitude to military service members, Mon Amie Bridal Salon in Costa Mesa gave away more than 40 wedding gowns to military brides-to-be Sunday.

This is the third time Mon Amie has held the military bridal gown giveaway. The first two were in April and August of last year. The store's director of marketing, Julie Chalupsky, said she hopes to make it an annual event.

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All brides had to show proof that they or their fiances had been deployed overseas sometime after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

Chalupsky said a number of the girls had served or serve in the military themselves.

"We just would love to support the girls -- they're very deserving," Chalupsky said. She added that many of them have had to delay their weddings because of overseas service..

Summer Talbot, 19, of San Diego, said she is waiting for her fiance to return home safely before they set a date for their nuptials.

"He's coming home in two weeks," she said gleefully. Talbot speculated that having a dress just may speed up the wedding process.

Talbot said the employees at Mon Amie were wonderful and helped her find the perfect dress -- a tube-top style with lots of sequins and a three-foot train.

The dress was priced at $865, which she said is probably what she would have spent if she had had to buy a dress herself.

She said the dress she chose was the second of five that she tried on.

Mon Amie also gave her shoes and a shawl to accessorize her gown and a bridal magazine to help her plan the wedding.

Talbot started waiting in line at 7 a.m. and finally got into to try on dresses around 2:30 p.m.

"It was totally worth it," Talbot said. "The lady [a shop employee] was so nice -- she told me all of the stuff that I would need for the dress and how to get it."

Many of the future brides camped out overnight to ensure their place in line, as the advertisement promised a free gown to the first 100 to enter the store.

Chalupsky said Mon Amie assigned each bride a personal consultant and made available a variety of sizes and styles to try to meet every girl's needs.

She said they gave away a broad range of dresses, from sizes four to 20.

"We've given a gown to everyone who has come today," Chalupsky said. She added that Newport Florist donated a free bridal bouquet to be raffled off to one of the lucky brides-to-be, and that eight of the girls won a tiara, compliments of accessory designer Renee Pawell.

Jeanette Ouellette, 22, of Chula Vista, served in the Navy and came home in April. Her fiance -- whom she met in the service -- is still on active duty, which is how she heard about the Mon Amie special.

"They're giving us everything," she said as she poked through shoe boxes, searching for the perfect pair to match her dress. "It [the dress] is perfect -- oh, my God, it's perfect."

All the bridal store employees who worked Sunday did so off the clock, volunteering their time.

"Everyone's found something today," Chalupsky said. "They're all very grateful and very sweet.... We definitely made 40 girls very happy today."

Published August 8, 2005
Modified August 9, 2005