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PROVO — It is soon to be the worst kept secret in Provo. One thousand new wedding dresses are now on the racks at Deseret Industries located at 1415 N. State St., all thanks to an anonymous donor.
Store employees put out the gowns on Wednesday and said around 30 brides-to-be found the most important dress of their lives from the donations.
Saying yes to the dress has not been easy for bride-to-be Mary Allphin. She said prices have kept her from trying some on.
"When I looked, they were like between $600 to like $2,000 and up," Allphin said.
But Wednesday, her limitations went out the window when she browsed through a room full of the 1,000 new gowns.
Store manager Wade Olsen said the dresses are part of one of the biggest donations Deseret Industries in Provo has seen.
"It is very unusual to see that many dresses ... from an individual that has come in and so it's certainly unique," Olson said.
Olson said he was pleasantly surprised when he got the call from an anonymous donor back in May who dropped off the dresses sizes 2 to 18.
"They look like, for the most part, they are summertime dresses," Olson said. "I don't see too many long sleeve, so it's the right time and the right season for the bride that's in the market for a dress and at a great value."
The dresses range in price from $80 to $130, price points Allphin said she's willing to pay.
"It's amazing," she said. "It means maybe somebody has a chance to actually have their own wedding dress that will make them feel so beautiful on their big day."
Olson said donations like these mean a lot to employees working at Deseret Industries because it helps fund job training.
