Family and friends gathered together in Boise, Idaho, earlier this month to watch childhood sweethearts Jordyn and Dakota Skye Cleverly exchange vows.
Jordyn was the image of perfection in a vintage white lace wedding gown that was fitted at the waist and featured long sleeves and a flared skirt. It wasn’t designer, but it held a deep meaning, as it was the very dress her grandmother wore at her own wedding in 1962.
“I decided to wear my grandmother’s wedding dress over two years ago,” Jordyn tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “I played with the idea of wearing her dress while trying on new designer dresses but came to the realization that I wasn’t going to find that ‘antiqued/vintage style’ dress within our budget — but especially with the sentimental value as well.”
Jordyn’s grandma, who has been a widow for 23 years, had no idea the dress was in her granddaughter’s possession. So when she saw Jordyn walk down the aisle in the gown she wore 55 years ago, her reaction was priceless.
“She was completely and utterly speechless. She whispered to me, ‘I married my high school sweetheart in this dress, now so will you,’ ” Jordyn says. “We actually started dating in middle school! It was the most spiritual and emotional moment of my life. No better way to pay tribute to the legacy of my widowed grandmother. I couldn’t be happier or more blessed.”
Wedding photographer Kortney Peterson describes the first look between the bride and her grandma as one of the most “unique and beautiful” moments she has ever gotten to capture.
“As the bride walked outside to see her grandma, it began to rain. We all viewed the rain as teardrops from heaven looking down. Teardrops from her grandfather. It made the moment just that much more beautiful and special,” Peterson says.
Jordyn told Kortney in advance that she was going to wear her grandma’s dress — but she wanted it to remain a surprise.
“I was 100 percent on board to capture this amazing moment,” she says. “Her reaction was one of the sweetest reactions I’ve ever seen. Tears were automatically brought to her eyes, and her grandma kept repeating ‘1962 … your grandfather would have loved to see this … I married my sweetheart in this … and now so will you.'”
“I think what made the moment so special was that the bride’s grandma had no idea. She thought her dress was scrapped months ago,” Peterson says. “So her realizing that Jordyn cared so much for it, really hit her emotions hard and it was so beautiful.”
Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:
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- Bride’s ‘feisty’ grandmother requested this wedding photo (and nailed it)
- ‘Teen mom’ Jenelle Evans marries David Eason in backyard wedding
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