GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Christmas has arrived early for a local woman who was reunited with her wedding dress more than two decades after her special day.
In 1999, Lisa Bouma and her husband Jeff tied the knot in Grand Rapids.
“Everything about it was so special,” Lisa Bouma said.
Following the ceremony, as the Boumas took off for their honeymoon, Lisa’s dress was taken to Afendoulis Cleaners and Tuxedos on Michigan Street.
“It got cleaned and I had a family member pick it up and instructed them, ‘Don’t touch it, don’t open it, just pick it up and put it on the shelf,'” Bouma said.
For 24 years, the box where the dress was stored went unchecked. That all changed when Bouma recently offered the dress to her nieces. But when she and her husband finally opened the box, she noticed something was off.
“I just thought immediately, ‘This is not my dress’ and he said, ‘Are you sure?’ And I said, ‘I’m sure,'” Bouma said.
After realizing she had been mistakenly given the wrong dress, Bouma said she dealt with a wave of emotions.
“I was kind of shocked and speechless, and then a little panicky, like, ‘Where is it?'” Bouma said.
So, she reached out to Afendoulis Cleaners and Tuxedos, hoping they still had it.
“A momentary panic, oh no, 1999? What’s the likelihood that I’m going to find this dress,” said Becky Afendoulis Trierweiler, owner of the shop.
Afendoulis Trierweiler said she has made it a policy to keep wedding dresses if she can’t reach the owner.
“For a woman, it’s probably one of the most important purchases of her life,” Afendoulis Trierweiler said.
After just a few minutes, she realized Bouma’s dress was still at her business.
“I actually had it on front display in my front window for a time and as soon as she sent me the picture of it, I recognized it,” Afendoulis Trierweiler said.
On Wednesday, a reunion that was 24 years in the making occurred when Bouma was reunited with the dress. Afendoulis Trierweiler says she’s thankful that it was found.
“It makes me feel great. Being a small business owner, you don’t want to disappoint anybody,” Afendoulis Trierweiler said.
Bouma said the situation gave her and her husband a new opportunity to relive their wedding day.
“Looked at some of the cards that people sent to us and we’ve just gone back to that day. So, just seeing the dress again is so special,” Bouma said.
As for the wedding dress that wasn’t Bouma’s, its origins are still unclear.
“I either couldn’t get a response or they said, ‘I don’t want it anymore,'” said Afendoulis Trierweiler. “If someone recognizes that dress they can bring me a picture of themselves in it and then we’ll have two people reunited with their dresses.”
If you pick up a dress from the dry cleaners, you’re encouraged to double-check to ensure you have the correct one.