Giving away the bride and gown

Alicia Robinson

Military brides-to-be who don’t want to wear fatigues on their

special day will have the chance to get a high-fashion wedding gown

from a local bridal shop on Sunday.

Mon Amie in Costa Mesa is holding its second bridal gown giveaway

this year for women who are in the military or planning to marry

someone in the service. The bride or groom who is in the military

must be or have been deployed or stationed overseas after Sept. 11,

2001.

The exclusive bridal salon is offering 100 free dresses and

alteration advice from bridal consultants. The gowns are store

samples in various styles that would range in cost from hundreds to

thousands of dollars if purchased.

“We really don’t want anyone to walk out of here empty-handed,”

event organizer Julie Chalupsky said. “We’re trying to help everyone

find their dream gown.”

As the store’s marketing director, Chalupsky dreamed up the

free-gown idea and organized the first giveaway in April. A military

bride herself, she lived in the area when her husband was stationed

on a U.S. Navy ship in San Diego. Late last year they moved to

Annapolis, Md., so he could teach at the U.S. Naval Academy there,

but she still works for Mon Amie and flew back for Sunday’s giveaway.

At the earlier event, 18 women received dresses, but Chalupsky is

expecting a larger turnout this weekend because she called area

military bases and had promotional help from the Wedding Channel’s

website.

Glowing reviews came from brides like Jolene Weikel of Santa Ana,

who got a gown in April and is ecstatic about it.

“I would never have been able to afford a gown like this,” she

said of the two-piece ivory gown with a lace-up back and long train.

“I really lucked out.”

Weikel and her fiance, Marine Cpl. Todd Richardson, plan to wed

Nov. 6. Richardson was so happy he wrote a thank-you letter to the

store, and the couple plans to send pictures of the wedding, Weikel

said.

Chalupsky said she loves the event and will likely keep it going

despite living in Maryland.

“As long as we have the dresses to give and the brides to get

married, we’ll definitely continue this,” Chalupsky said.

The military bride gown giveaway is scheduled from 10:30 a.m. to

3:30 p.m. Sunday at Mon Amie, 355 S. Bristol St., Costa Mesa. For

information, call (714) 546-5700.