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Bridal boutique outfits military wives

The wedding dress giveaway for military brides came just in time for Kristy Shacklee.

The Marengo native is marrying Army Staff Sgt. David Mitchell in just more than a week on July 24, but until today she didn't have a dress.

"We had one ordered, but it hadn't come, and we weren't sure it would fit," said Shacklee, who selected a white mermaid-style dress Tuesday at A L'Amour Bridal Boutique in Barrington.

The shop elected to be part of Brides Across America, a national effort dedicated to finding low-cost bridal gowns for women who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, or who are marrying servicemen who were deployed to the Middle East.

Nearly 10 brides came in Tuesday to greet shop owner Carol Hood and look at the 150 dresses with retail prices from $1,000 to $3,000 that Hood and her staff selected. They will hold another giveaway on Veterans Day, Nov. 11. (The average cost of a wedding gown in the U.S. is $1,505, according to the Bridal Association of America).

Mitchell is a military policeman. He plans to stay in the Army, and Shacklee knows there are more deployments in their future.

"I don't have a choice who I fell in love with," she said. "He's a hero and a great guy. He's more than worth it."

When Mitchell was in Iraq they stayed in touch through Facebook and Skype, the face-to-face computer-based telephone service. A military spouse needs patience, work, a hobby and should join up with others in the same boat, Shacklee said.

The couple were driving from New York to Marengo when Cyndi Shacklee called her daughter to say the Daily Herald was reporting about the one-day wedding dress giveaway.

"I thought it was too good to be true," her daughter said. "I didn't think I would find something because I'm kind of picky, but sure enough I walked out with a beautiful dress."

The realities of married life in the military mean long separations. Currently, the average Army rate is 12 months deployed, followed by 12 months at a home station assignment. The Army is working to change the average to 18 months at home and ultimately wants to have 24 months at home after 12 months' deployment.

Rebekah Shea from Champaign, another bride with a free dress, has a positive attitude about her future as a military wife.

"Look at how many families have made it work," Shea said. "It can be a good experience to live in different places or you can be negative about it, which doesn't do anyone any good."

The 27-year-old accountant will marry 1st Lt. Dave Simning on Memorial Day in her parents' backyard in downstate Highland near St. Louis. Simning, who plans to stay in the Marines, is serving the second half of his six-month tour of duty in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He works in communications and tells Shea not to worry about him because he never leaves the base.

"Everybody else does enough worrying, so I try not to think about it," she said. "I think you would go a little crazy if you did. I don't watch the news or read about it on the Internet. I just think of him as on a business trip for six months."

Shea selected a strapless, ivory mermaid-style dress with English lace and occasional sequins.

"I love the look of lace," she said. "It's very timeless and romantic.

"It's nice that someone is thinking about spouses and families whenever their loved ones are away."

Simning calls almost every night - late morning for Shea - and likes hearing about the wedding plans, but, except for the music, he hasn't been involved much in decisions for the big day.

A fiance in Afghanistan is one thing, but Shea also has a brother, Ben, in Iraq. The men are friends, and Shea met Simning while visiting her brother about 18 months ago.

Meredith Marley of Villa Park came in wanting a simple dress but ended up with a strapless number, with a beaded top and a corset back, a full skirt and a train.

It's been 18 months since Meredith Marley married Jerry Marley, an E3 with the Army in Herat Province in Afghanistan, but the couple are planning a more formal ceremony with about 30 guests at a cousin's home next July.

They met in the Army. Had she stayed in, she would be with her husband, but she left right before the birth of their son, Jesse, eight months ago.

"We didn't want both of us deployed and have to leave him here," Marley said.

Jerry Marley, who is in the infantry, has a cell phone and can call his wife about once a week. She can sometimes check out photos of him on Facebook.

"I worry about him quite often," Meredith Marley said. "I try not to think about it because I get a little upset."

Her husband will not stay in the Army when his enlistment is finished.

"He's doing a good thing, and I can't wait for him to come home," Meredith Marley said. "I knew what I was getting into, but when he actually left it was a lot harder than I thought it would be."

Hood and her staff had almost as much fun Tuesday as the brides.

"This has been a really neat day for the whole staff," said Hood, whose son, Doug, is in the Navy. "We made brides happy. The dresses have all really fit the girls and won't require many alterations."

• Daily Herald staff writer Kelly Mantz contributed to this report.

Katlynn Pratt of Spring Grove shows a gown to her friend Jami Crouch and her mother, Cindy Pratt, at A L'Amour Bridal Boutique. She's engaged to Marine Pfc. Mason Hoy of Ingleside, who is serving in Afghanistan. Bill Zars | Staff Photographer

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