Bride-to-be Élise Boissonneault and her fiancé were about to leave for the airport and fly to Toronto for their wedding, but things didn't go quite as perfectly as they had planned.
She studied the patterns on the fabric hanging in her closet, trying to decide which pieces to pack for the week. But as she tugged a shirt off a hanger and began to neatly fold it, sirens shattered through the peaceful air.
A fire was raging across the Alberta hillsides and toward Fort McMurray, so the town issued an evacuation and Élise was rushed out… without her wedding gown.
The gown was still hanging in the closet of the seamstress who was altering it. As the angry smoke billowed from the town, Élise knew the chances of her ever seeing it again were slim.
When her close friend, Alana Ritter, saw how distressed her friend was, she knew she had to make Élise's dream wedding a reality, so she turned to social media for help.
"I know it's a long shot, looking for a cheap one or even just to borrow as she now has nothing," she wrote in a post. "She would obviously prefer not to get married in jeans but that may be the only option."
She wasn't sure if she would get any replies, but the response she got was astounding — hundreds of women called and offered up their dresses. Alana and Élise could not believe the volume of generosity.
"I thought she was going to ask a couple of friends maybe, if they had a spare dress kicking around. I didn't expect that," Élise told CBC news, giggling at the idea. "I didn't think she'd post it all over social media."
As the post spread, a woman who owned a bridal store reached out and offered her a free gown. It turned out to be quite a happy ending for this bride — she found her dream dress and married her Prince Charming.
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