ATLANTA -- Weddings are often prim and proper, formal affairs.
Wedding dress shopping, that's another story.
Managers at Filene's Basement in Atlanta report 1,200 women lined up early Friday to buy discount wedding dresses. The event is so popular because the dresses are discounted up to 90%.
When the clock rang 8 a.m., they burst into the store in a mad stampede to grab as many dresses as possible. It was not a pretty scene.
"I was frightened," Amanda O'Donnell told WSBTV.com from the floor where she sat for an emotional break. "I got to come in a little early so I was bombarded with women. I got into a fistfight, seriously. I was in a tug of war. First, I got away from being stampeded. Then, once I finally got some dresses, I had to get into a fistfight. So, it was terrible."
"It was pandemonium, crazy but you know, I was throwing (el)bows left and right," Dannika Kamille Smith said. "We weren't going let anybody jump in front of us. We had adrenaline running, just excitement. We were ready."
The event is known worldwide as the "Running of the Brides." The racks that held nearly 2,200 wedding dresses were cleared in about a minute. The philosophy, grab as many dresses as possible and hope that one works. If not, find someone to trade.
This year's event included more brides than any the Atlanta store has hosted in the past. Store managers believe the economy was the reason.
I much prefer vintage gowns.
