Wedding dress shopping can be magical, but also a little stressful, especially when you’re on a budget. Once a bride finds her dress, the wedding bells couldn’t come fast enough.
Taeya Yenche got engaged to her partner Josh earlier this year, and from the start, she knew she wanted to buy her dress second hand.
"We were just researching places to get pre-loved dresses," Yenche says. "Just because I didn't wanna buy one new.”
She wanted to make an environmentally conscious choice, something that didn’t add to textile waste.
And that’s how she found Brides for a Cause.
Originally founded in Portland more than a decade ago, this unique bridal shop sells discounted dresses donated by the community.
“I think a lot of times people think about their wedding dress nowadays with more of an environmental mindset," Boutique Manager Elaine Clark says. "So, actually having an opportunity to donate the dress and let another bride enjoy it just as much as the first bride did,um,is a really big factor for them.”
The shop has sold hundreds of gowns, with proceeds going to local and national nonprofits uplifting women.
“The fact that the money went to a good cause just made me feel even better about coming here," Yenche says.
To keep things modern, the store only accepts dresses five years old or newer.
"So we're not just taking in like grandma's dress from the forties. It's generally pretty trendy styles," Clark.
Yenche plans to donate her dress after her wedding, but not before one very important stop.
“I kind of want to at least go to one in -n -out trip in it, I saw a video of it, it looked like fun," Yenche says.
Hopefully she doesn’t spill any spread sauce on it.
If you're interested in donating your wedding dress to the shop, click here.
