'Just wonderful.' Northeast Ohio woman starts online movement after wedding dress giveaway

CHAMPION TWP. ‒ Gwendolyn Stulgis never imagined when she offered to give her $3,000 wedding dress to a bride-to-be in need that she would be starting a movement.

But that's exactly what happened.

About two months after the Northeast Ohio woman posted on Facebook asking interested brides to share their stories about why they deserve the wedding dress, she has been contacted by hundreds of women looking to do the same. She created a Facebook group that has amassed more than 13,000 members, enabling women from across the country to help one another find wedding attire.

"I didn't realize at the time that it was going to turn into something so large. The need, the want is there. So it's pretty exciting," Stulgis said.

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Stulgis, who hails from Champion Township in Trumbull County, got married in May. She didn't want her wedding dress to sit in a box or the back of a closet, so she decided to offer it to any woman getting married in the next six months who could not afford her dream dress. Her only condition was that the woman who received the dress then have it dry-cleaned and pass it on to another woman in need.

Her goal was to see her dress be used by different women until it fell apart.

Stulgis received more than 70 submissions. She ended up giving her gown to a woman from Portage County. She received Facebook messages from several women who wanted to donate their dresses, too.

"So that's what made me think why am I just giving away my dress? Let's help some more," she said.

Stulgis created a Facebook group called "Shared Dream Dresses" where members can donate their wedding dresses, shoes, bridesmaid dresses, rehearsal dinner gowns and other wedding-related items to others in need. The group has grown rapidly over the past few months as Stulgis's story was picked up by several national publications and media outlets, including The Washington Post and National Public Radio.

Thousands of women have joined. They post pictures of their dresses to the group, along with size information and other details. Interested brides will leave comments on the post and then the woman donating the dress will select a recipient and make arrangements to get it to them.

A few women who don't use Facebook or aren't comfortable posting themselves will get their dresses to Stulgis so that she can post them. She recently was contacted by a boutique in Pittsburgh that is shutting down. The boutique has offered to donate about 40 wedding dresses and 10 flower girl dresses to the movement.

Stulgis has added a few moderators to help her keep up with the group, but she said it's still hard to keep track of everything.

"Every day I'm still in shock," she said. "Every day, I'm inspired by people's stories, by the generosity."

Running the group has allowed Stulgis to make new friends and meet women from across the country.

One woman who is looking to support the movement is Krissa Lopez, who lives near Houston, Texas. She heard about Shared Dream Dresses from her mother, who read one of the articles written about the group. Lopez felt it was wonderful to donate unneeded wedding dresses to women who cannot afford them.

"I think it's a great thing to do because there's so many people that dream of really a Cinderella wedding and want something special for their wedding and don't have the money to get it," she said.

Lopez's daughters have an old bridesmaid and wedding dress they no longer need. She plans to give them away in the Facebook group.

Stulgis said the group is about women empowering one another.

"We're all just trying to help each other," she said. "You donate, share a dress with them and make them feel beautiful and let them know their beautiful. And it's a wonderful thing."

Reach Paige at 330-580-8577 or pmbennett@gannett.com, or on Twitter at @paigembenn.