A Rhode Island woman is desperately searching for her mother’s wedding dress, after she accidentally gave it away to charity just months before her own nuptials.
Symone Gilbert says she planned to wear part of the gown, hand-sewn by her great-grandmother in 1992, on her wedding day.
However, she accidentally tossed it onto a “giveaway” pile while clearing out her mom’s basement in Providence. According to a Facebook post uploaded by Gilbert, the garment was whisked to a nearby Savers store in Warwick shortly after, where it was sold.
Now, the bride-to-be has said that she is furious with herself for not noticing that the dress was missing for two weeks.
“You get so mad at yourself because why didn’t I notice before that it was missing?” she told WJAR.
Gilbert has been engaged since June and is currently planning for her wedding day, which will take place next year.
She had planned to wear part of her mother’s dress when she tied the knot so that she could feel connected to her family’s history.
“It would let me actually have three generations of my family connected because my great-grandmother helped my mom make the dress, my mom helped make the dress and she wore it,” Gilbert added. “My wedding day is also on my maternal grandmother’s birthday, and she has passed away.”
Gilbert described the garment as having “lace, sweetheart neckline,” and “puff sleeves.” The gown was a traditional ivory.
According to her Facebook post, she is prepared to buy back the dress ahead of her own wedding day.
"It's kinda like a family heirloom at this point," she told WJAR. "I’m willing to spend money to get back a dress that was accidentally donated. I know it might sound a little crazy to some people, but it means that much.”
Social media users have joined the search by sharing Gilbert’s post and flooding the comments sections across with advice.
One shopper even claimed that she had seen the dress before it was sold.
“I actually seen this dress there and almost got it! I hope you can find it!!” Allison Caranci wrote.
“I know how she feels,” another wrote. “Mine was lost when we moved a while back.
“I so wanted one of my daughters to wear it. Hope she gets lucky and finds it.”
The Independent has contacted Symone Gilbert for further comment.
