Ohio newlywed giving away $3,000 wedding dress, but there’s a catch

TRUMBULL COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) –It was a beautiful day when Gwendolyn Stulgis, of Champion Township, married the man of her dreams, Frank Stulgis, at Landoll’s Mohican Castle in Loudonville, Ohio.

It was back in early May in front of an intimate crowd of family and friends.

The couple met at the start of the pandemic on a popular dating site.

“We both work very long hours, you know, so just my boss, friend actually recommended I go on E-Harmony and that’s kind of where we met.”

Shortly afterwards, Gwendolyn says they got engaged and the wedding planning began, including the hunt for that perfect wedding dress.

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“I really didn’t want to spend too much money on a wedding dress. I didn’t feel the need really to have something so extravagant and so much money that we would just put away.”

With the average cost of a wedding gown at $1,200, Gwendolyn’s initial wedding dress budget was $1,000. That is, until she saw this champagne colored, V-neck laced ball gown at a local bridal shop.

The price tag? $3,000.

“I started getting emotional, crying because it really was everything I wanted it to be.”

So it instead of packing the dress away for years to come, Gwendolyn decided to pay it forward, creating a post on social media announcing that she would give the dress away to a deserving woman who may not be able to afford their own dream dress.

“I just want to make someone else happy. I want to do something nice for someone else and hope that they appreciate it and pass it on, down the line.”

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You heard her right, there is a catch.

In addition to sending Gwendolyn a couple of short-paragraphs on why they deserve to have the dress, the lucky bride-to-be must also pay it forward and give the dress away after their wedding day.

“You spend a lot of money on things like that and we wear them one time, maybe twice and you put it away and just don’t feel like that’s something like that dress particularly.”

All prospects must have a wedding date scheduled within the next three to six months.

Gwendolyn has already received inquiries from 45 women from as far away as Michigan, Tennessee and even Texas.

The winner will be announced via Facebook live this Saturday, June 4 at noon.

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