Wedding Gown Maker Gives Deep Military Discount
UPDATED: 10:17 am EDT April 13,
2005
NEW YORK -- Planning a wedding is always stressful, but when your fiance is in the military and fighting overseas, it can be particularly difficult. That's where a New York wedding dress designer stepped in, television station WNBC reported. She's offering beautiful gowns at a beautiful price for brides who've sacrificed more than most.For Junko Yoshioka, all the measuring, cutting, fitting and primping is a labor of love. The wedding gown designer and boutique owner is going beyond the runway. She is giving a special deal to a special group of brides -- women in the military."I'm not getting profit or anything. We don't have any profit for them," Yoshioka said.Any woman getting married who's either enlisted in the armed forces herself, or whose fiance is enlisted, can buy one of the designer gowns at cost. So, a $4,000 or $5,000 gown becomes available for as little as $1,000 dollars.When Kara Dispagna heard about the deal, she practically raced to the SoHo boutique called Bonaparte New York. Her fiance, William, is stationed in Arizona -- soon to go back to Iraq. They're planning to get married when he returns."I'm so grateful for what she's doing. We don't have a lot of money, and we're kind of on a budget, so getting a beautiful gown is something that, as beautiful as these gowns are, something I didn't really envision. It's amazing I get the opportunity to wear these dresses," Dispagna said.If Dispagna were a normal customer, the dress she tried on would cost $3,600, but because her fiance is in the military, it is available to her for $1,200.Yoshioka is not an American citizen. She moved to the U.S. from Japan only 5 years ago, but since 9/11, she's become a concerned and caring New Yorker looking for a way to contribute."I feel kind of a family feeling. It's no border, even though I'm Japanese, not American, I understand how they feel," Yoshioka said.Yoshioka is part of the family now -- Dispagna plans to have her at the wedding.
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