This post was written to welcome our readers, clients, members and supporters to our Bridal Gown Gemach. There was much involved in setting up this project. Much time and effort lead up to our being able to add bridal gowns to what we were doing to help brides who had no parents. There were so many more details to take care of than we initially expected. The idea was, to rent out the bridal gowns at a reasonable or affordable rate with a very big special to help orphan Kallot.
This was part of a special section of our centre, all related to weddings. Space was a very definite issue. We had many plans starting off with adding bridal veils.
One of the goals of this post was to invite you to come and take a look at our bridal gowns. We also hoped to share with those interested in this special project that the gowns had arrived. As mentioned, there were many steps involved.
After purchasing the 60 bridal gowns, step number one was to have all of the gowns dry cleaned. Next came finding a suitable home for them while we prepared to return to Jerusalem. Of course, if we had our own premises for our centre, our challenges would have been greatly reduced.
Once all the gowns were cleaned the obviously needed the appropriate means to hang and display them. As a result, we had to obtain clothes racks, hangers and a standing mirror. One standing mirror was not actually enough but it was a good start.
An image of the Bridal Gowns with the Mirror
This image shows what I was looking at in the first photograph of this post. The gowns were all lovely and quality, or so we were told when purchasing them. They were modest in keeping with Torah standards, suitable for a Torah centre.
However, the more we worked with the gowns and began to promote them, the more we came up against a number of unforeseen challenges.
What were some of the Challenges?
- Suitable space was a definite set back
- Promoting the bridal gowns was hard as any of the beautiful flyers we created were taken down, within minutes of putting them up on noticeboards
- Having invested in equipment to display the gowns, we lacked budget to continue promoting. Naively we thought we would begin to earn from renting gowns and be able to progress from there.
- Unforeseen challenges occurred with our move to Jerusalem
- Many of the bridal gowns were not in as good a condition as we were lead to believe they would be when purchasing them
- Other responsibilities arose resulting in our having to change direction for now.
The project had loads of potential and we consider bringing it back some time in the future. However, for now, some of the gowns went on to other Gemachim. Sadly some were not in good enough condition for renting out. These had to be put to rest. We are working on some creative ways to re-use materials, lace and beads from the gowns in our efforts to earn what we need to help us build our Torah centre in Jerusalem.
Why am I sharing a project that is on hold?
That’s a great question. Firstly it shows some of the projects we have been involved in. Secondly, sharing a little about the bridal gowns shows some of the good we aim to get back to. I hope that will inspire you, the reader of this post, to get involved in what we are doing and building. Next, I would say that although we have had challenges we have not given up. We are finding new options and avenues to get us to our destination. And lastly, we do still offer a service related to brides and grooms or Chatanim and Kallot and that is the lessons that are necessary in preparing for getting married.
