Good Samaritan saves wedding day

CRESTVIEW - When Shawn Reilly stopped by the Red Raspberry Boutique to pick up a tuxedo for his wedding, he mentioned his fiancée, Tammy Jones, was in a tizzy.

Her wedding gown, specially ordered from China, had not yet been delivered to Crestview from Miami, where it had arrived on Oct. 1.

Then on the morning of Oct. 16, Jones, now Tammy Reilly, learned the dress had accidentally been shipped back overseas.

With the couple's wedding looming, Red Raspberry Boutique bridal department head Cindy Holobaugh said, "Whatever we can do for you, we'll do."

"Tammy came in on (Oct. 16)," said Donna Howard, owner of the Red Raspberry. "We had several gowns, but they were not quite what she needed."

Then Holobaugh remembered the boutique had recently sold a gown that might work.

She called Nicole Caporaletti, who had married on Sept. 5, and asked if she'd consider renting Tammy her gown.

A wedding gown is a very special, personal article of clothing. It's not the sort of outfit you'd casually lend to someone, especially a complete stranger.

However, a wedding day is a very special event. Being a recent bride herself, Caporaletti knew how much it would mean to Reilly to have the perfect gown to wear for her own trip down the aisle.

"I told her to go ahead and take the dress and wished her a good wedding," Caporaletti said. "They said she was really impressed."