OC woman desperately searching for wedding dress that was accidentally donated to Goodwill
An Orange County woman is desperately searching for the return of her beloved wedding dress that was accidentally donated to a local Goodwill.
Rebecca Nguyen was wearing a beautiful classic lace gown adorned with beading and spaghetti straps when she married the love of her life in August 2017. In the years since, the dress has acted as a reminder of the magical day.
"When I wore it, I felt like me," Nguyen said. "I want to say I felt like this movie star. I felt like this princess, but that wasn't me. I felt like me."
The memories of that dream quickly turned into a nightmare on Tuesday, when she received the shock of her life, learning that her dress was suddenly missing.
"My wedding dress was accidentally donated by one of my family members. It was a complete accident, it was during a rush of a lot of things," she said while speaking with KCAL News on Wednesday. "Mistakes happen. When I found out yesterday I was pretty heartbroken."
Nguyen says that the dress wasn't the only wedding souvenir that got donated to a Goodwill in Brea more than two weeks ago, and she immediately submitted an accidental donation form in hopes of retrieving what she could.
She's visited Goodwill's Orange County headquarters, hoping that some of the employees could help her recover the lost items.
"It could be sitting at the warehouse, still waiting to get sorted through," said Chris Sewitsky, the retail director at the location. "It just depends where and what time of day it came in. That store is a very busy store. Some stuff does stay at that store, some stuff comes back to main distribution. So, we're hoping we can find it because it is such a unique item."
On top of her local search, Nguyen has also posted on several local Facebook pages offering to buy back the dress if it's already been purchased.
"If you have it, please consider selling it back to me. I will pay more than you paid for it. You can even wear it for your wedding! I don't mind sharing the joy and beauty of the dress," one post says.
If someone does have it, she's hopeful that they're able to get as much enjoyment out of their special day as she did.
"Not everybody can afford to get a brand new dress and that's okay. I want someone to be able to enjoy it as well," Nguyen said.
Anyone with more information on the missing dress can reach out to Goodwill in Brea, which is located at 634 S. Brea Boulevard, by calling (714) 255-1099.
