For years the St Rita monastery has acted as a second-hand wedding-dress depot, adorning disadvantaged brides-to-be in gowns for their special day, but in recent times with the poor economic climate, the convent has become a fashionable alternative for brides on a budget.
Sister Maria Laura, a cloistered Augustinian nun and one-time seamstress, runs the newly revamped atelier and told the New York Times she is happy to gift any bride who makes the pilgrimage to see her.
“If you have a dream and we can make it come true, we’ll do our best,” said Sister Maria.
Before taking her vows 20 years ago at the age of 28, the Italian nun was a designer and seamstress in her family’s tailoring shop in Lucca. Her expertise enables her to know exactly what needs to be altered and according to the Times she is unexpectedly straight-forward.
“No need to tighten it; you don’t want to look like a sausage on your wedding day,” Sister Maria reportedly told one blushing bride. “This is just ugly,” she bluntly told two other engaged women.
Giuliana Parabiago, editor in chief at the magazine Vogue Bridal Italy, told the Times that money-wise, the monastery’s service was “incomparable to elsewhere in Europe” when you consider the cost for people wanting to have traditional weddings.
As a gesture of goodwill many women who have received their gowns from the convent return their dresses after their wedding so that another woman can have the same experience while others pay it forward more literally, leaving up to £700, or roughly $1000, as a token of their appreciation.
The demand is growing – and Sister Maria Laura said that while the brides might depart her company with a gown for their big day – the nuns also receive a blessing with every woman they are able to dress.
“It gives me great joy to see a young woman who can fulfil her dream of love with a dress appropriate for the happiest day of her life,” said Sister Maria Laura.
