A lot has changed since Martha Mae Ophelia Moon Tucker tied the knot with her beau, Lehman Tucker, in an impromptu ceremony at her pastor’s house in 1952.
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At the time, Martha wasn’t even allowed inside a bridal shop in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, simply because of the color of her skin. So instead of a traditional gown, she wore a borrowed blue dress when she said “I do.”
Several decades later, Martha is 94 and still sharp as a tack. She has four children, 11 grandchildren, 18 great-grandchildren, and one great-great-grandchild! She has always been active in her community, and the Birmingham City Council recently honored her for working the polls at her local election center for the past 63 years.
It’s safe to say this spitfire great-great-grandma has few regrets in her life. Still, while watching the movie “Coming to America” with her granddaughter, Angela Strozier, Martha confessed that she wished she could have worn a wedding gown when she got married.
Angela’s response? “Done.”
Angela and her cousins set up an appointment at David’s Bridal to fulfill their matriarch’s fondest wish. As soon as she put on a gauzy white gown, Martha felt like a princess!
“I looked in the mirror at myself wanting to know who is that,” she said. “Yeah, I was very excited! I felt great! I told ya, it felt just like I was getting married!”
Martha said she is incredibly grateful to her granddaughters for making her dream come true, but they insist the pleasure was all theirs.
“Our grandmother has sacrificed so much for us, so to be able to turn around and grant her a ‘want,’ that was just priceless for me,” Angela said.
The 94-year-old can now cross this item off her bucket list for good. “I so much wanted to try on a wedding dress before I leave here,” she said. “I have been dreaming of this for almost 70 years. It was just as if it was my wedding day. And I loved it so.”
Martha’s wish was so simple to fulfill. Her family is even planning a wedding reception soon! It makes us want to ask our grandparents what they missed out on so we can make their dreams come true!
Share this story to wish Martha well on her second “wedding day.”
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