It was the surprise of a lifetime for a local nurse when a nonprofit organization gifted her with the wedding dress of her dreams.
Cheryl Hanegan is one of many frontline workers who received a free dress courtesy of the Andover-based Brides Across America.
“I was blown away,” she said. “I actually got very lucky. It was the first dress that I tried on.”
Brides Across America is a national non-profit that has been gifting wedding dresses to military members and first responders since 2008.
The organization’s founder Heidi Janson felt that providing free gowns to frontline workers was a perfect way to thank them for their sacrifice during the pandemic.
“They were risking their lives for us,” Janson said. “We felt it really lined up with our mission to support and give back.”
Hanegan and her fiance, who is also an MGH nurse, got engaged back in October and she had her dress appointment last week after making a small donation to the organization.
She said the whole thing was an incredible experience and is thankful to Brides Across America for making it all happen.
“I know that when I put on that dress I’ll be able to look back at this whole experience as a whole and know how great it was that somebody else was looking out for someone else the way we were looking out for society,” Hanegan said.
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