Hundreds of dresses donated following bridal shop fire

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – Hundreds of dresses were donated to Seacoast Church in Mount Pleasant for brides who lost their dresses in the Lafayette Village fire, which destroyed multiple businesses, including Jean’s Bridal.

“You dream of this dress and you find it then its like, oh, back to square one,” says Chelsea Walden, a bride whose dress was ruined in the fire. Her wedding day is just a few months away so now she is starting from scratch.

“My sister, my maid of honor, she was trying to find replacements for me as well,” says Walden.

Within hours of the fire, the community came together, organizing a wedding dress drive for brides who were impacted by the fire.

“To find out your dress is not there, your bridesmaid’s dress is not there, your husband’s tuxedo is not there… I felt terrible… I wanted to do anything I could,” said Erin Ledford, who organized the bridal donation.

Ledford got her dress from Jean’s Bridal almost 18 years ago and she wanted to do anything possible to help those brides in need.

“I’ve really held onto it. It’s an emotional day to pass that along to another person, but if I can help someone I would like to,” Ledford says.

This drive brought more than 130 dresses from people across the Lowcountry, now giving those brides an opportunity to have a perfect dress once again.

“All these women just wanting to help out is just so beautiful. I am really grateful that we have this community here, its really special,” Walden says.

One of the volunteers told News 2 that Walden had a very happy ending. Walden originally had her eye on a dress that was out of her price range, so she opted for a more affordable option, which was ruined in the fire.

As Walden was browsing through the donated dresses, she found her original dream dress in just the right size.