Bride Makes Touching Tribute To Grandma By Wearing Her 1962 Bridal Dress For Her Own Wedding

Jul 13, 2022 by apost team

When wedding bells ring, every bride's dream is to look as stunning as possible, and a big part of this comes down to the choice of wedding dress. Months or even years go into searching for, choosing and tailoring the perfect dress for that special day, with every detail taken into consideration, such as fashion trends, color and fit. But there's one thing that never goes out of style: familial love.

Jordyn Cleverly of Boise, Idaho, had just this in mind when it came to her wedding on Sept 23, 2017. In a touching gesture, the 23-year-old decided that she would walk down the aisle wearing her grandmother's wedding dress, but in an even sweeter form, she decided to keep it secret from her.

While Cleverly had initially wanted to make the big reveal on the wedding day itself, she decided to do it during the wedding rehearsal instead. "I didn't want her to see it for the first time walking down the aisle and just start sobbing and all those memories come back to her," Cleverly told Inside Edition. So instead, she told her grandmother to come to a small family photo shoot during the rehearsal two days before the wedding.

Unbeknownst to her grandmother, 74-year-old Penny Jensen, Cleverly had the dress in her possession after getting the idea of trying it on after her grandmother had mentioned she was thinking of donating it. 

Luckily, that didn't end up being the case, and Jensen's emotional reaction to the dress reveal was all caught on camera.

Photographer Kortney Peterson was on hand to snap the wedding pictures and captured the surprise reveal.

"It was an absolutely beautiful moment and everyone around was silent," Kortney told HuffPost. "Tears began to stream from everyone's faces," Peterson told HuffPost.

Cleverly had also brought an old photograph of her grandmother wearing the same dress on her wedding day back in 1962.  

"She was just speechless," Cleverly said. "I kind of blacked out for a second because it was such an emotional rollercoaster. All I heard her saying in the back was, 'Wow, wow, wow.' I finally went up and hugged her and she whispered in my ear, 'I married my high school sweetheart in this dress and so will you.'"

Photographer Peterson was also moved by the sweet surprise, writing in an Instagram post that it was a "first look unlike any other I've done before. … Between this sweet bride and her grandma," adding that, naturally, "yes. You guessed it. I bawled." Peterson also shared the emotional shots to the Love What Matters Facebook page, adding she was "so lucky to have captured this sweet moment!"

The timeless off-white vintage dress consisted of a long-sleeved, off-the-shoulder lace top half with buttons running down the back and a full, floor-length tulle skirt. However, before the wedding, Cleverly had to get the dress tailored.

"I went and tried it on and it was actually maybe a size or two too big and so I contacted a local seamstress to see if there was anything we could do with it and she said, 'Absolutely, it's in fantastic shape,'" Cleverly said.

When it comes to wearing "something old" for the wedding, it looks like Cleverly truly scored a winner with this move.

apost.com

What did you think of this bride's surprise for her grandma? Have any surprises ever moved you and left you emotional? Let us know and pass this on to your friends and loved ones.