A bride who tried on nearly 100 wedding dresses but couldn’t find ‘the one’ stunned her family and friends on her big day when she revealed she secretly had her dress painted to create a stunning one-of-a-kind floral design.
Catrina Mairose, from Minneapolis, Minnesota, admitted finding the right wedding dress was a journey, as she tried on dozens of dresses and felt “paralyzed with indecision.”
With nothing feeling quite right, Catrina, 34, panic-ordered a dress before suffering buyer’s remorse.
But then her friend Katie showed her the profile of Emily Plank, an artist specializing in painting dresses.
MORE WEDDING STORIES: Thrifty Bride Refurbishes $25 Gown Into Dream Wedding Dress
Catrina fell in love with Emily’s work, and though she had reservations about sending her dress to a stranger in Florida six weeks before her big day, she decided it was worth the risk.
Over the weeks that followed, Emily worked on a beautiful floral pattern at the bottom of Catrina’s dress, capturing the process in photos and videos to update her client.
Catrina hadn’t told anyone about her artistic additions, and so, standing in her bridal suite, she suggested a dress try-on to her mom, mother-in-law and friends.
Catrina was met with stunned gasps and gushes as everyone first set eyes on the beautiful and unique floral design adorning the skirt of her dress.
Catrina said: “I decided to keep it a secret, aside from the necessary moral support I got from Katie and my wedding planner.
“We conspired to surprise everyone on the wedding day, and it was a fairly tough secret to keep because I was so excited.
“It was totally worth it, my skirt ended up being absolutely perfect – Emily turned it into a true work of art.
MORE WEDDING STORIES: Daughter Surprises Mom With Repurposed 90s Wedding Dress at Rehearsal Dinner
“It took a second for folks to see the skirt, but when they did, everyone gasped and gushed over how incredible it was.
“I think my mom was most shocked and excited.
“She knew how much I struggled to find a dress, and she knows I’m very risk-averse, so for her to see so much joy and excitement—for everything to pay off—was a breathtaking moment for both of us.
“It was so fun to pull off such a surprise, to finally show off Emily’s work, and to see the joy in everyone’s faces.”
