Skip to main content
British Red Cross logo
DONATE
  • Back
  • Get help
    • Get help
    • Coronavirus
    • Hire a wheelchair
    • Hire a toilet aid
    • Support line
    • Support at home
    • Help with loneliness
    • Find missing family
    • Help for refugees
    • Help for young refugees
    • Help with money problems
    • Prepare for emergencies
  • Get involved
    • Get involved
    • Donate
    • Volunteer
    • Fundraising and events
    • Partner with us
    • Coronavirus
    • Teaching resources
    • Jobs
  • First aid
    • First aid
    • Learn first aid skills
    • Baby and child first aid
    • Do a first aid course
    • Find a first aid venue
    • Teach first aid
    • Buy a first aid kit
  • About us
    • About us
    • What we do
    • How we're run
    • What we stand for
    • News, media and research
    • Our history
    • Contact us
  • Shop
    • Shop
    • Find a charity shop
    • Donate goods
    • Volunteer in our shops
    • Furniture and electrics
    • Online shop
    • Independent living products
    • Visit our eBay shop
    • Our ASOS vintage shop
    • Books
    • Wedding dresses
    • Vintage and designer clothes
  • Stories
    • Stories
    • Health and social care
    • Migration and displacement
    • Disasters and emergencies
    • Our Movement


Love letter from a wedding dress

A charity wedding gown bought and sold in a Red Cross shop is searching for its next bride

When Laura Trower found her dream wedding dress in the window of the British Red Cross charity shop in Forest Hill, south London, back in 2019, she cried tears of happiness. It was the first bridal gown she’d tried on, and it was perfect.

But she was in for another surprise: Laura found a note attached to the dress from the previous owner, Fran, also from south London. It included a phone number and a small request: for the new owner to share photographs of the dress on their special day.

To add to Laura’s joy, the shop told her that buying the dress would help to fund three wheelchairs for the Red Cross.

“It was an added bonus.” she said. “Not only did I get the most beautiful dress, but those in need were able to get support.”

After she was married, Laura contacted Fran and they shared photos and messages from both of their weddings. It was then that dress began to take on a life of its own.

Fran, wearing the wedding dress she donated to a British Red Cross charity shop, stands holding her new husband's hand while confetti is thrown at them.

Fran, who had the dress first, with her husband at their wedding

Laura Trower wearing the wedding dress she bought at a British Red Cross charity shop, walking in a green field with her new husband.

Laura, the gown's second owner, and her husband Chris.

“Everyone gets attached to their wedding dress! I just wanted to know who had it!” Fran said.

“But I wasn’t really expecting anything. I was so surprised to get the message because it was a quite a while later. But it makes me so happy knowing someone so sweet enjoyed the dress like I did.”

Wedding dresses often languish in a loft after being worn once, but Laura is now hooked on the idea of continuing the charity chain and took the dress back to the same Red Cross shop. She is hoping that someone else will find it and love it as much as she and Fran did.

Laura said, “We have pinned a similar note to the dress in the hope that whoever buys it will continue to share the history of this beautiful dress!”

I couldn’t believe it when I saw the note from the previous owner,” she added. “I had to get in touch! Now we’re excited see who the next bride will be!”

The dress was originally bought in a bridal store in Camden, north London, in 2017. It arrived at the Red Cross in a pristine box, as though it had just left the shop.

Laura Trower stands outside the British Red Cross charity shop where she bought her wedding dress and donated it again after her wedding.

Left: Laura outside the Red Cross charity shop where she bought and then donated her wedding dress.

Right: The note Laura and Fran pinned inside the dress for its new owner.

A note that says: "I bought this dress from the Red Cross for my wedding so this dress has history with this shop!"

The Red Cross has over 300 charity shops around the UK and many, like the shop in Forest Hill, sell wedding dresses and suits. We also have a specialist bridal boutique in Stockbridge, Edinburgh.

Berni Considine is a British Red Cross regional retail manager and can recall when Laura and Fran’s dress first arrived at the charity shop.

"We remembered this particular dress so well from when it came in the first time. Not many of our garments come with a special note, but even without the message, this dress is beautiful – there's just something about it that makes it stand out – the design and the cut. It’s just stunning.” 

Experts put the average price of a bridal gown in the UK at around £1,500 but Fran and Laura’s dress was priced at just £150. This can help create a sustainable wedding that helps both the environment and people in crisis.

Berni shared that, “pre-pandemic, the British Red Cross in Forest Hill was well known for its wedding dress events, when we would dedicate the shop for a day to wedding dresses and bridal accessories.

“So, we would love… to carry on being a part of the life of this unique dress and all that it symbolises."

  • Find out about the specialist British Red Cross bridal boutique in Stockbridge, Edinburgh.
  • Contact your local Red Cross charity shop to see if it sells wedding dresses and other bridal wear.
A black and white photograph showing a British Red Cross nurse lights cigarette for seated patient, as they both smile

Valentine volunteers love stories from World War 1

Many of our volunteer nurses found love with the patients they treated during the First World War 1. Here are their stories.

Story
5 minutes
A woman sorts through clothes to donate to a British Red Cross charity shop.

Decluttering your wardrobe made easy

A good spring clean can do wonders. Then donate your old clothes to a Red Cross charity shop to help people in crisis.

Article
2 minutes
Untitled design (33)

Three volunteers, one special shop in Hull

Three of our volunteers explain how working in their local British Red Cross charity shop in Hull has enriched their lives in surprising ways.

Story
4 minutes

  • CONTACT US
  • JOBS
  • SITEMAP
  • CYMRAEG
  • LOGIN

  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Modern slavery statement
  • Accessibility
  • Cookie Settings
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

©2022 British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society, incorporated by Royal Charter 1908, is a charity registered in England and Wales (220949), Scotland (SC037738), Isle of Man (0752) and Jersey (430).

Registered with Fundraising Regulator