She Said “Yes” to the Goodwill Dress

Makayla shares her story of her perfect love and her perfect dress:

Andrew and I met in high school. We didn’t know each other, but we made it our mission to make sure we passed each other in the hall every day. Finally, one day, I asked his name and asked him to sit with me at lunch.

It honestly felt too good to be true. He was the first to say “I love you,” which took me off guard because we weren’t dating at the time. It’s crazy how the two of us hit it off so easily considering our differences. He’s pretty shy and quiet. At first, I was always the one to initiate conversation because he got nervous. I’ve always been an extrovert.

I’d always wanted a big dress even if I couldn’t afford a big wedding. I knew we didn’t have a lot of money because we are still just getting on our feet. I decided to look at Goodwill because my mom told me she had seen a couple of wedding dresses there. I went to the Benton store to see if I could find anything, and there were a few promising dresses that were really pretty, but they didn’t quite fit. Then—I decided to try the Bryant location.

The first one I tried on was great, and it was absolutely gorgeous! It was exactly what I’ve always looked for in my dream wedding dress. Ballgown, a nice train, and really big. It didn’t fit perfectly, but I bought it and had it taken up. We also had it tailored into an off-the-shoulder design.

My wedding day was the best day of my life. When Andrew proposed, I was worried we would just have to elope because we barely had enough money for groceries. But when I found my dress, everything else just fell into place perfectly! My mom and sister helped out and made it amazing. Yes, it was small, but it was beautiful and fun and way more than I expected I would have.