BoomerGirl Diary

Fresno, Calif. — One of my first newspaper jobs was writing engagement announcements - heady days of writing sentences such as "Joe Smith and Jane Adams are betrothed." "Betrothed" sounded more like a car part, as in "Car experts say drivers should check their car's betroth before taking a long trip."

Since my favorite nephew is getting married next week, I have weddings on my mind. It will be a simple ceremony, and I am prepared to carry a lot of Kleenex.

Weddings mean wedding gowns. That got me to thinking what kind of responses I would get if I asked women, "Where's your wedding dress?"

"It's hanging in a bag in my closet," Debbie Van Fossenays. "It was a formal gown with white lace and a long train. I loved it. Every once in a while, I unzip the bag and look at it. I wish I could fit in it."

The Visalia, Calif., resident was married 14 years ago.

"I don't have anyone to hand it down to," she says. "It makes me happy to look at it. It's like the one day you feel like a princess. I've thought about creating something out of it. That's in the back of my mind."

Fresno resident Dee Alizadehas married in 2002. Her dress also is in a garment bag. She says the off-white dress resembles the one Marilyn Monroe wore in "The Seven Year Itch" - "You know, the dress that flew up," she says.

"I bought it at a store on Fulton Mall. I wanted a dress that I could wear again for a formal occasion. I didn't want to buy a dress I would only wear once."

She's keeping the dress for her daughter. That won't be for many years, since her Roxanna is only 1-1/2 years old.

"The dress might not be in style by the time she gets married," she says. "I will suggest she wear the dress, but it will be her decision."

A wedding dress is a major sentimental item. The Web site AmityMama.com features a section titled "Do you still have your wedding dress?"

One woman posted her thoughts about the Vera Wang wedding gown she bought for $200.

"I would feel bad about getting rid of it, but it was trashed. Right after the ceremony, a good friend's 4-year-old decided to give me a big hug. Unfortunately, he had been eating Doritos all through the ceremony, so I had bright orange handprints all over me."

Rosie Regalado of Visalia keeps her 1997 wedding dress, wedding cake topper and guestbook in a closet at home.

"It was a princess-style dress in tulle and lace with a sweetheart neckline, a long train and sequins and pearls," she says. "The tulle made me feel like a princess. I bought it at a store in Watsonville. I had seen one like it in a magazine."

Her wedding gown still fits.

"When I look at the gown, I remember the wonderful feeling of being surrounded by family and friends. Happy memories."

Former Fresno residents Charlene and Oren Richardson were married Jan. 30, 1956. The couple's two daughters and son threw the couple a 50th wedding anniversary party at the Elks' Lodge in Coalinga in December.

Gail Filipeut her mother's wedding dress, designed by Lorrie Debf San Francisco, on a wire dress form and placed tiny white lights inside to make the gown glow.

"I found the dress inside a suitcase in the garage years ago," Filipe says. "It's been at my house in a cedar chest for the past 10 years. It's itty-bitty. It's all lace and still in good condition."

But it's not the wedding gown that impresses Filipe.

"Not many people stay married for 50 years," she says. "My mother and father are still very dedicated to each other. The bond between them is amazing."