Photo: Millie Taylor-Morrison via Facebook
While many brides-to-be consider finding their wedding dress to be one of the most difficult decisions of planning, some brides have a laser-focus on what they want, and just go for it. Case in point: New Jersey resident Millie Taylor-Morrison married Harold Morrison on October 16, just after turning 86 — wearing a purple satin wedding gown. The clincher? She designed it herself.
Photo: Millie Taylor-Morrison via Facebook
The former model (who was represented by Emily Miles’ Belle Mead Modeling Agency in the late 1940s and 1950s) turned 86 last week and walked down the aisle last week to marry a man from her church, according to the Telegraph UK. Taylor-Morrison’s granddaughter posted a beautiful pic on Facebook and it went totally viral. “”This is my beautiful grandmother, Millie Taylor-Morrison, who was married over the weekend at 86-years-old,” she wrote on Facebook. “She just turned 86 one week ago and her new husband will be 86 in December. My grandmother was married to my grandfather for 41 years when he passed away. She found love again almost 25 years later and our family couldn’t be happier for her. This is a true testament that age is just a number and everyone can find love again.”
Photo: Millie Taylor-Morrison via Facebook
When it came to her bold dress choice, Taylor-Morrison asked a young fashion designer, Marco Hall, whom she knew from her church to sketch her dream dress. As he shared on his Instagram, she had come to him with a sketch and said, “I’m going all out because this might be my last hurrah.”
“I had a vision of what I’d like this dress to be,” the bride explained to People.”So I asked a young man in my church who is an artist to sketch it and I took it to the dressmaker. Purple and lavender are my favorite colors. It was exactly what I wanted. I felt so wonderful.”
And she definitely went all out. The glowing bride-to-be wore a beautiful lilac-hued birdcage veil, a deep purple floor-length gown, and a stunning lavender jacquard robe-style coat, all designed by Marco Hall. Millie’s bridal party (of her children and grandchildren) wore lilac- and purple-hued dresses with purple flowers and a ring of baby’s breath, while the groomsmen wore light gray suits with matching bowties.
Photo: Millie Taylor-Morrison via Facebook
Millie and Harold first became friends over 60 years ago — with her new groom actually attending her 1952 wedding to her deceased husband. After Millie’s first husband passed away, she began to care for Harold when he wasn’t feeling well and also drove him to church. “I used to sing in the choir and Harold attended my church. I would be standing with the other choir members, waiting to walk out and he would come over and kiss me on the cheek before sitting down for the service. I used to admire him in church. He dressed impeccably and I admire that in a man.” And the rest is history. The couple set a wedding date and tied the knot on Sunday at Zion Hill Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey in front of 200 friends and family. Clearly this new power couple has quite the bond, and their story is just too precious, let alone stylish!
Upon standing in front of the mirror for the first time, the 86-year-old was in shock. “I couldn’t believe it,” she said. “It was exactly what I wanted. I felt so wonderful.” Her granddaughters shared the same sentiments about the big day. “Their wedding day was beautiful and she was a sight to see. Harold was emotional, he started to weep a little.”
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Thanks to this beauty for the necessary reminder to choose whatever makes you feel happy and beautiful as a bride; it’s your day, your moment, and of course — your dream dress.