by Leigha Dobson

Created on: January 11, 2009

Would I wear a pre-owned wedding gown? Yes, I would and did. I got pregnant at the age of seventeen and at the time to his parents getting married was our only option. I of course wasn't ready nor was he being in his early twenties to be a parent and spouse. But we did. It was decided we were going to get married. We had a little over a week to plan our wedding, while moving and being six months pregnant. It was the first week of 1999 that we would be getting married. 1999 would prove to be a year of many of our firsts, our wedding being the second only after looking forward to being parents.

In the week we had to plan our wedding and knowing that the very few people that were willing to help us in any way possible were great it wasn't that bad. I had originally went to our local department stores to look at pretty white dresses that a tall pregnant woman could fit into. We of course had a very small budget and even less time. I found two dresses that fit around the belly but needed alterations elsewhere that were cheap so we snagged them. As they hung up in our room at night I cried for three nights straight staring at them. I was horrified. I wanted to look like a real bride even under the circumstances. I started talking more to my friends and family about all the other arrangements and so on when borrowing a dress was suggested to me.

I thought about it for a while and realized how much time we didn't have for alterations, how I hated those cheap dresses anyway and I wanted an actual wedding gown. Even though it wasn't my first choice I decided to borrow my aunt's wedding dress. She had gotten married for the first time in. It was beautiful. Not only was it as close as I could get to my dream dress it also fit. It had a long and wide flowing train and with my bouquet I had no problems covering up my beautiful baby bump when I wanted to in pictures.

Most of the time I didn't even have to try, I had nothing to be ashamed of. Even though we are no longer married and I have found my true self, I do not regret our wedding. Our ten year old daughter now looks back at those pictures and tells me how beautiful she thought I was, as does everyone else. To me that is all that matters and I know I also shared an incredible experience with my aunt. I would do it all over again. The fact that it was owned or worn by someone else didn't bother me a bit. I have those memories and always will even if I no longer have the dress!

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