MOSCOW, Iowa —  A beaming bride, framed in the church vestibule, reaches for her father’s arm and takes her first steps toward the altar in the dress her mother wore 30 years earlier.

Dabbing at her eyes, the mother watches her daughter wearing the dress. Memories flood her mind as she and her husband hope that some of the joy of their union will be transferred to the new couple.

Vickie Denkman and daughter Carrie, both of Moscow, have shared this dream ever since Carrie was a little girl — their own private game of “what if?”

Denkman remembers asking, when her daughter was a child, whom did she want to marry? (“Someone like Dad,” was the answer). And what would she wear on her wedding day? (“Mama’s dress.”)

 This family ritual was repeated throughout the various moves they made from house to house, with the treasured dress being stored beneath a bed, waiting for the right time.

The dream they shared turned into a nightmare early in May when Carrie called with good news.

“Get your dress out,” Denkman recalled her daughter saying over the phone. “It’s time.”

Excited and thrilled, Denkman went to get the dress, where it had been waiting to fulfill the dreams of both women. Imagine her surprise and dismay when she opened the box, only to find a crumpled ivory dress with the tag: “Specially Hand Made by Laurel”  instead of her  wedding dress.

“I thought it was some kind of joke — a prank,” Denkman said. “It was probably special to someone, but it wasn’t mine.”

Denkman’s daughter was equally upset.“She couldn’t believe it,” Denkman said, her voice trailing off. “After all these years, preserving it for the right moment.”

The first step Denkman and her husband, Dean, took to find the dress was to trace the dry cleaner, Model Laundry, which was at 208 E. Fourth St. in Muscatine. The location is now a city parking lot, and the dry cleaner is out of business. Attempts to reach members of the Howe family, who owned the business, were unsuccessful.

That forced members of Denkman’s family to become creative.

“My brother-in-law went to the library and looked through the (Muscatine Journal) archives to research weddings around the time of our wedding,” Denkman said. “Thinking that we may be able to find the owner of the dress we now have.

“I have this girl’s dress,” Denkman said, “but she   doesn’t necessarily have mine.

“It’s awful, because someone may have put a notice in the paper 30 years ago, but if you didn’t think you had the wrong dress, you aren’t looking for that,” Denkman said.

The family has a few options in the works if the wedding dress cannot be recovered.

“My mom offered my sister’s dress, and we may also purchase a new one,” Denkman said. “But we’re not sure yet. Time is a factor, with her wedding coming up in March of next year.”

Even if the dress cannot be found, they remain optimistic.

“Carrie has a lot to look forward to,” Denkman said. “Her fiance is a wonderful man, and dress or no dress, those things won’t change ... She will make a beautiful bride, no matter what.”

Correspondent contact information:

Molly M. Cantrell-Kraig, (563) 299-2779

mckraig@machlink.com