CHICAGO -- When Serena Stoneberg walked down the aisle of a North Side church this month, her wedding continued a family tradition that spanned seven previous brides across three generations and multiple Chicago neighborhoods and suburbs.
Stoneberg became the eighth bride to say her vows in the satin gown that was previously worn by her grandmother, great aunt, aunt and cousins on their wedding days. Her late grandmother purchased it for $100.75 at the Brides’ Room at the former Marshall Field’s on State Street and was the first bride to wear it in 1950.
The family heirloom has made seven more brides look good since then, with all but one of the weddings taking place in and around Chicago. Many of those brides gathered in Serena Stoneberg’s River North Hotel room the day before the wedding, to socialize.
