By Lily Belcher
The Regent, a wedding venue in Riverview, is now accepting nominations for its wedding dress giveaway for Brandon Regional Hospital health care workers until Wednesday, September 1.
Shannon Keil, the executive director of The Regent, originally planned a wedding dress scavenger hunt before the coronavirus hit and was forced to revise her plans to donate 25 wedding dresses to local brides. This revision produced the wedding dress giveaway to health care workers, who have dedicated their time and skills in helping patients during the coronavirus.
“Getting married is a dream event for everyone,” said President of MEFMedia Maureen Famiano. “Picking that perfect dress can be daunting and expensive.”
The 25 wedding dresses, ranging from $600-$1,200 each, were donated to The Regent by Satin & Lace Bridal Boutique in Riverview. The Regent’s wedding dress giveaway will alleviate the stress that may come with finding a wedding dress for engaged coronavirus first responders. The future brides can be nominated by their coworkers, families or community members who know of a bride at Brandon Regional Hospital looking for their dream dress.
“We were trying to decide who would be deserving during all of this and we felt that health care workers, who had been at the hospital dealing with a lot of loss and taking care of people, [would be the best candidates for the wedding dress giveaway],” said Keil.
Nominations for the giveaway can be emailed to Keil with 500 words or less on what makes their nominee special and why they deserve a wedding dress from The Regent. The recipients of the dresses will be selected by a group of unbiased community members who are outside of The Regent, Satin & Lace Bridal Boutique and Brandon Regional Hospital, meaning the selections will be based on the nominations alone.
Winners for the giveaway will be selected in the middle of September and attend an event to pick their perfect dress. Keil hopes these dresses will go to deserving first responders to express the community’s appreciation for them and share hope with the future brides.
For more information on The Regent’s wedding dress giveaway, contact Keil at 571-2494. To submit a nomination, email Keil at skeil@theregentfl.com.
