Choosing a wedding dress is an important step for a young woman. It's a decision many girls dream about from the time they're very small.
Such was the case for Joan Riley who, in 1958, went to St. Joseph with her parents to choose a special dress for her wedding. Joan searched through the beautiful dresses in the Tivoli Vogue Shop on Felix Street.
She fell in love with a dress that had layer after layer of delicate lace. The price tag said $100. Joan felt she should try to find something cheaper.
"A hundred dollars was a lot of money back in 1958," Joan said. "My dad liked the $100 dress and thought I should have it, so that's the way it was."
On Jan. 3, 1959, Joan Riley walked down the aisle at St. Benedict's Church in Clyde, Mo., to meet Dale Wilson. As she did so, she was wearing the beautiful dress with layers of lace. Little did Joan know she would not be the last bride to wear the very special dress she had chosen.
Dale and Joan Wilson celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Jan. 3, 2009.
Joan's sister, Lucille Riley, had been dating John Zimmerman for more than three years. They knew from their first date they were meant to be together forever.
On the night of Dale and Joan's big day –– during the wedding dance –– John proposed to Lucille and she accepted. Their wedding date was set for April 18, 1959 –– just a few short months after her sister's wedding.
Lucille decided she wanted to borrow her sisters wedding dress and veil.
The day of the wedding was perfect. John and Lucille were also married at St. Benedict's Church in Clyde.
"In those days, it was custom for the bride and groom to be married at 9 a.m., Lucille said. "The bride wore the dress all day –– and to the dance as well."
And so it was with Joan and Lucille.
Margaret McIntosh lived close to the Riley girls. They were fast friends and did many things together –– they even attended a country school together.
Not long after Dale and Joan and John and Lucille had started their lives together, Margaret asked if she could borrow the dress –– the beautiful wedding dress with layers of delicate lace. Both Joan and Lucille were happy to allow their friend to wear their wedding dress.
Margaret was married on Aug. 14, 1960. Sadly, Margaret passed away a few years later.
Shortly after Margaret's wedding, the McIntosh home was damaged in a fire. Although it was smoke damaged, the dress was taken to the cleaners and preserved.
The Wilson and Zimmerman families grew –– children blessed their homes.
Debbie Zimmerman was planning her wedding to Stan Snyder. She went to her mother and asked if she could wear the dress. Her mother was happy to say yes.
By that time, the original veil was damaged beyond repair. Rather than go shopping for a new veil, Lucille chose to make a veil by hand –– putting in many long hours of work to complete the new veil before the wedding.
Again, it was a perfect day for a wedding when Debbie Zimmerman and Stan Snyder were married in the original St. Gregory's Church in Maryville on June 6, 1981.
Brenda Wilson, Joan's daughter, was planning to marry Andy Lortz. She also wanted to wear the dress.
"I wanted to wear the wedding dress my mother wore," Brenda said. I knew Aunt Lucille had worn the dress and Debbie was going to be wearing it on her wedding day as well, so I kind of wanted to keep with the tradition. It was different style, but I've always been a history buff and thought it would be neat to look like a Southern Belle. And I loved that I would be wearing a petti-coat under the dress."
Just 12 days after her cousin's wedding, Brenda Wilson married Andy Lotz in Tulsa, Okla., on June 18, 1981. The Missouri family traveled to Oklahoma for the big event.
Was Brenda the last woman to wear the special wedding dress with layers and layers of lace?
She was until John and Lucille Zimmerman celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary on Saturday, June 13, 2009. Lucille again wore the special wedding dress as she walked down the aisle with her best friend, John Zimmerman.
"Lucille's the only one of us who can still get in the dress," Joan said. "I was glad when my daughter, Brenda, chose to wear the dress. My youngest daughter did not want to wear it. She wanted to have a $1,100 wedding dress instead."
Maryville, Mo. —
