Cinderella’sFairytale

A Cinderella Project - March 2012 Volume 4, Issue 3

For the past 11 years, A Cinderella Project’s Gowns &

Crowns Bridal Fashion Show has been considered a success, but the 2012 eventon Feb. 25, raised the bar to a new level.

Seven hundred brides-to-be walked through the doors of Le Jardin, a reception facility in Houston that has hosted Gowns & Crowns since 2001. Brides were greeted with a team of consultants and stylists ready to turn them into the wedding princesses they’ve always dreamed of.

As the room was flooded with brides waiting for a glimmer of hope, Executive Director Madison Longust was overwhelmed at the turnout for the event.

“Thinking about how many people walked through those doors brings tears to my eyes,” Longust said. “It just reminds me why I wanted to start this organization.”

Before this year’s event, Gowns & Crowns 2006 held the record with 230 brides receiving wedding

dresses, but 2012 proved to be the most successful year to date.

In just four hours, A Cinderella Project supplied more than 500 brides with the dress of their dreams.

“Seeing tears of joy and receiving countless hugs makes all of the hard work worth it,” Longust

said. “By receiving a simple wedding dress or pair of heels, these girls had a sparkle in their eyes that hadn’t been there in a while.”

To complete the wedding day transformation, Visible Changes and Clinique offered hair and makeup services to more than 350 brides.

The goal of A Cinderella Project is to make every bride feel like a princess on her wedding day and Longust feels that 2012 Gowns & Crowns event was a giant step in achieving that goal.

“I can’t wait to see how many dreams we can make a reality in 2013,” Longust said.

GOWNS & CROWNS BRIDAL SHOW 2012 BREAKS RECORD

WHAT’S INSIDE!• Note from the Director.........2

• Upcoming Events...................2

• Monthly Giveaway.................2

• Bridal Spotlight......................3

• Donor Spotlight.....................4

• Building Scrapbooks...........4

• Monthly Wedding Tip.........4

“Thinking about how many people walked through

those doors brings tears to my eyes.”

Click on the logo for an important

public service annoucement!

Click here for a message from A Cinderella Project

President Madison Longust!

WEDDING CAKE GIVEAWAY!

Like A Cinderella Project on Facebook by April 15th for your chance to win a free wedding cake from Bavarian

Cakery!

SAVE THE DATE!

• April 29- The 5th Annual Cinderella Ball

A Chance for clients to meet the original owners of the

gowns and share wedding stories over dinner. MUST

RSVP ONLINE BY APRIL 15!

• May 3- Free Makeup Lesson by Clinique

All ages are invited to learn the latest trends in makeup

application by professionals.

I would just like to take a minute to thank everybody involved in the 2012 Gowns & Crowns Bridal Fashion Show. With your help and generous donations, we were able to make more than 500 brides’ dreams become realities!

I am proud to announce that 2012 Gowns & Crowns was a record-breaking event for A Cinderella Project and it wouldn’t have happened without everyone’s commitment and generosity.

It brings tears to my eyes to think about how committed everyone is to bringing hope to the lives of complete strangers.

To the directors: Since I started A Cinderella Project, I have been blessed to work with you on events like Gowns & Crowns. I appreciate the countless hours you have put into this special event and your commitment to changing lives.

To all of the donors: Words cannot express how grateful I am for you parting ways with your beloved gowns so that someone else can wear it on her special day. I wish all of you could see the look on the bride’s face when she tries on the dress.

To the sponsors: Without you, events like Gowns & Crowns would not be possible. So many businesses concentrate on the ultimate goal, making money, but I’m inspired by people like who are willing to sacrifice income to gain another reward, which is making the dreams of hopeless people come true.

To the clients: You are the reason I get up and come to work every day. Just seeing your beaming smile or wiping away your tears of joy brings joy to me and the staff at A Cinderella Project. We are honored to be a part of your wedding and make your dreams a reality.

I truly cannot wait to see how many lives are changed by Gowns & Crowns in 2013.

A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR

Page after page of gorgeous wedding gowns, tiaras, red-

carpet hairstyles and Cinderella shoes were too much for Kelly Clinton, 20, to handle.

For her yearlong engagement, she cried every day about not looking like the bride she envisioned since she was a little girl. But her prayers were answered with the help of A Cinderella Project’s Gowns & Crowns Bridal Fashion Show.

Growing up as a homeless child, Clinton often spent her days looking at bridal magazines and dreaming of being a princess on her wedding day. Her only dream was to grow up and be a wedding planner, but her family’s lack of funds made it impossible for her to attend college.

At 18, her boyfriend, Alex Huttle, proposed and they planned to get married within the next year. Clinton and Huttle immediately got jobs at a local McDonald’s to save money for her dream wedding but after just a month, Clinton and Huttle lost their jobs due to the tough economy and have been unemployed ever since.

“After I lost my job, my dream of a perfect wedding was shattered,” Clinton said. “It was like someone

telling me that I didn’t deserve to look beautiful on my wedding day and that was devastating because that’s all I’ve dreamed about my whole life.”

With three months before the wedding and no arrangements, Clinton began to think that eloping was the only option and was prepared to get married in jeans and a t-shirt.

After seeing a flier for a bridal show sponsored by A Cinderella Project, a local non-profit organization that helps low-income brides feel like a princess on their wedding day, a glimmer of hope appeared for Clinton.

On Feb. 24, 2011, Clinton attended the Gowns & Crowns Bridal Fashion Show and instantly knew that her dreams were about to come true. After meeting with a consultant,

Clinton knew that her prayers had been answered.

“I walked into the fashion show as a depressed and hopeless bride-to-be and walked out knowing that I would look and feel like Cinderella,” Clinton said. “Everyone who works at A Cinderella Project is truly a blessing to my life.”

Three months later on April 16, Clinton became Mrs. Huttle on what she calls the “happiest day of her life.”

Still mesmerized by her wedding photos, Clinton was draped in pearls, which complimented her beaded white wedding gown with a long train that followed her down the aisle. Her perfectly curled hair and breath-taking makeup, done by a local stylist, made Clinton look as if she belonged on a magazine cover.

It’s testimonies like Clinton’s that make Executive Director Madison Longust proud to be part of A Cinderella Project.

“[Clinton’s] story makes all of the hard work worth it,” Longust said. “Every woman deserves to feel like a princess on her wedding day and that’s why I started A Cinderella Project.”

To read more stories like Clinton’s, visit www.acinderellaproject.org.

BRIDAL SPOTLIGHT: KELLY CLINTON

“I walked into the fashion show as a

depressed and hopeless bride-to-be and walked

out knowing that I would look and feel like

Cinderella.”

All questions and comments should be sent to Madison Longust at

madison@acinderellaproduct.org. For more information visit

www.acinderellaproject.org or call 281-586-5455.

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Wedding Tip of the Month

A dress looks completely different after you try it on. Always try a dress on even if it looks odd on the hanger

Oct. 14, 2010, was a day out of a fairytale for Melissa Hartman as that was the day she became Mrs. Melissa Groney. On her wedding day, Groney wore an ivory gown covered in tulle and draped in beads and pearls.

On her one year anniversary, Groney sadly realized that the dress of her dreams had been sitting in a box since her special day and told herself that there had to be a better purpose for a dress she had only worn one.

“My dress was basically new,” Groney said. “I wore it for about 5 hours and unless something changed, it was going to spend years in a box in my closet.”

After talking to friends about her guilt over a thousand-dollar dress collecting dust, Groney decided that she wanted to someone else to get married in her dress; someone who couldn’t afford a dress of her own.

On Nov. 24, 2011, Groney walked into A Cinderella Project’s showroom and handed the dress over to the nonprofit that would use it to make some bride’s dream

come true. However, parting with it wasn’t easy at first.

“That was my dream dress and I just gave it away,” Groney said to herself as she walked out of the showroom.

It took a couple of days for Groney to emotionally let go of her gown but realized that she was making a difference.

“It finally clicked,” Groney said. “If a dress that I was never going to wear again could help someone look and feel beautiful on her wedding day, then I would be selfish not to take that opportunity.”

The same dress that made Groney’s wedding day a fairytale was featured in the 2012 Gowns & Crowns Bridal Fashion Show. That night, Jennifer Hermann, who couldn’t afford a dress, tried on Groney’s gown and instantly fell in love.

Because of Groney’s generous donation to A Cinderella Project, Hermann will walk down the aisle wearing the ivory gown covered in tulle and draped in beads and pearls.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT: MELISSA GRONEY

BuildingScrapbooks!

A model walks the runway at 2012 Gowns & Crowns in a dress donated by

Christina Ruiz.

Rebecca Grayson discusses possible updos with a hair stylist

from Visible Changes.

Deidre Johnson and her mother have permanent smiles after finding a wedding

dress at Gowns & Crowns.

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