The Dress of the Month Contest is honored to present our annual 2002 Dress Contest winning couple -- Julie and Brad. The couple was married on August 3, 2002, at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Staunton, IL. Here is the January 2003 Dress of the Month's description as told by the bride:

"Stunning and unforgettable -- those are just two words to describe my wedding gown. After trying on literally hundreds of dresses, I tried on this dress by the suggestion of the shop owner. Not wanting to rush into making any decision, my mom and I decided to go have lunch. During the entire lunch, all I could discuss was this dress. This had not happened with any other dress.

My dress featured several aspects that I was looking for in my wedding gown, simple, yet elegant, and not frou-frou. I wore a candlelight, matte satin, A-line wedding gown with an empire-waist. Gold thread and crystal beads created a beautiful leafy-vine pattern on the bodice, train, and hem of the gown. My goal was to make everyone say “wow!” when they saw my dress for the first time. In the receiving line, everyone commented how beautiful my dress really was."