When Jess and Michael get engaged, her cousin Sarah decided to sew her wedding dress for her as a gift. But during the final fitting, Jess discovers that the wedding dress is two sizes too small. Will Sarah fix her error, or will Jess have to take things into her own hands?
My cousin Sarah and I have always had a complicated relationship. She’s loud and bubbly, but also the type of person who craves the spotlight. And because of that, our entire family gave her the attention she wanted. It made more sense to shine the spotlight on Sarah, rather than ourselves.
When Michael and I got engaged after being together for four years, my whole family seemed genuinely excited for me.
A couple standing together | Source: Midjourney
Sarah even got all of our girl cousins together, along with my best friends, for a night out. Ending in an Airbnb where we continued the party, because I was the first of us to get engaged.
During that night out, Sarah came up to me, a glass of champagne in her hand.
“Jess! I have a great idea!” she said.
A smiling woman holding a glass of champagne | Source: Midjourney
“What?” I asked. “What do you want to do?”
“I want to make your wedding dress for you!” she exclaimed, swaying to the music as she spoke.
Now, Sarah is a brilliant seamstress, and she’s made some incredible outfits in her young career so far. Despite our complicated relationship, the thought of Sarah making a dress for me was actually a lovely idea.
A woman working as a seamstress | Source: Midjourney
“Really? You’d do that for me?” I asked, touched by the gesture.
“Of course, Jess! It’ll be perfect!” she replied with a smile that seemed nothing but sincere at the time.
The rest of the evening went off without a hitch. I was surrounded by the people who loved me, and even more, my cousin wanted to do something so intimate by making me a wedding dress.
Smiling women at a party | Source: Midjourney
Everything felt right.
We spent weeks choosing the design and fabrics. We pored over the magazines and websites, and finally, I had an idea in mind.
One day, I met Sarah at her office, ready to take my final measurements so that she could start with my dress.
“You’re going to look amazing,” she said, taking my measurements precisely, jotting down everything carefully on her writing pad.
The office of a seamstress | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, I hope so,” I said, taking a sip of my coffee as Sarah put her measuring tape away. “I’ve been on a strict diet, and I’m finally happy with my weight. So, it’s just about maintaining my figure now.”
“You look good, Jess,” she said. “But if anything changes and you find yourself losing or gaining weight, just let me know, and you can come in for another fitting.”
I nodded and left, eager to see how my dress was going to turn out.
But when I went for the final fitting, things took a turn.
A garment bag on a hanger | Source: Midjourney
I slipped into the dress, but something was wrong—it was way too small. I couldn’t even zip it up, no matter how hard I sucked in my breath.
“Jess! Are you crazy to gain weight before the wedding?” Sarah asked, her tone dripping with mock concern.
My heart sank. We were two weeks away from the wedding, and judging from this fitting, I didn’t have a dress.
A shocked young woman | Source: Midjourney
“I haven’t gained any weight, Sarah,” I replied. “I’ve been too stressed to eat. If anything, I should have lost weight because of that!”
Sarah shrugged, barely concealing a smirk that was plastered onto her face.
“Well, I’ll try to fix it, but with the wedding so close, I can’t make any promises. I have other clients waiting for their orders, too, Jess.”
A nonchalant woman | Source: Midjourney
Her words rang loud and clear in my head as I drove away from her office.
And then it hit me — this wasn’t an accident. I recalled the way she spoke to me, and the tone in her voice. There was no remorse in her mistake. There was no mix-up in measurements. There was no weight gain with me.
This was deliberate, and Sarah had made the dress too small on purpose.
“I don’t know what to do,” I told Michael when he got home that evening.
A couple talking in their kitchen | Source: Midjourney
“Show me the dress?” he asked, pouring himself a glass of water.
“What! No!” I exclaimed. “The dress may be a mess, but it’s bad luck for you to see!”
“Look, why don’t you take the dress to Mrs. Lawson? She’s my mom’s friend, and she does all her alterations. She’s making Mom’s dress for the wedding, too.”
An older seamstress | Source: Midjourney
So, I gathered the awful dress and went to Mrs. Lawson, who was a retired seamstress with a reputation for miracles.
“Oh, honey,” she said when I walked in. “Michael phoned me and told me all about the mess. But I’ve seen the worst and made it a hundred times better.”
“This might be tricky, though,” I said, showing her the dress.
A smiling older woman | Source: Midjourney
“Honey, I’ve seen it all, trust me. Let’s make this work,” she chuckled.
Together, we transformed the original design into something completely new. A chic, short, cocktail-style dress that was bold, unconventional, and a bit edgy for a wedding.
But it was absolutely stunning. It was everything Sarah’s dress wasn’t: fun, flirty, and perfectly me.
A wedding dress on a hanger | Source: Midjourney
When it was time to walk down the aisle, my heart raced. I stood in the bridal suite of the wedding venue and looked at myself in the mirror. I looked beautiful. I felt beautiful.
As my dad walked into the room to get me, his jaw dropped.
“My darling,” he said. “You look incredible! Wow!”
A close up of a bride | Source: Midjourney
“Thanks, Dad,” I said. “I know it’s not what we all envisioned me wearing for my wedding, but it’s been the best surprise. I feel like a bride.”
“That’s the only thing that matters, darling,” he said.
Soon, my entrance music began, and goosebumps appeared all over my body as a classical version of a Lana Del Rey song took over the room.
Heads turned.
A smiling father-of-the-bride | Source: Midjourney
And I felt the buzz of admiration follow me as people watched me walk in. I knew that my dress was a hit.
When I got closer to Michael, his eyes widened, and his smile took over his face. I knew then that the man I was about to marry fell in love with me all over again.
But before I took my place next to Michael, I turned to Sarah, wanting to see her expression first.
A groom standing at the altar | Source: Midjourney
Her face was priceless: she was pale and shocked. I knew she had expected to see me in tears, humiliated by her sabotage and wearing that horrible dress she had designed.
Instead, I was glowing, smiling from ear to ear.
The ceremony went off without a hitch, Michael’s vows leaving me in tears and my heart full of love for the man I was going to spend the rest of my life with.
A bride with tears in her eyes | Source: Midjourney
But then came the reception.
Michael and I were mingling with our guests when Sarah cornered me.
“Jess, what happened to the dress? Where’s my original design? Why did you change it?” she asked, trying to hide her confusion.
I grinned.
A close up of an annoyed woman | Source: Midjourney
“Oh, I thought I’d take your design and make it better! Remember, you weren’t even sure that you could do anything about it. And I was bursting out of it because it was at least two sizes too small.”
“So, that’s it? You just threw away my hard work?” she gasped. “That’s low!”
“No, Sarah, your work is the foundation of this dress. It’s just a hundred times better because the woman who fixed it wanted me to look and feel beautiful on my wedding day.”
A close up of an annoyed woman | Source: Midjourney
Her mouth opened, but no words came out. Around us, guests kept complimenting my dress, calling it unique and stunning.
Sarah had no choice but to stand there and listen.
“Come on, love,” Michael called to me. “Let’s do our first dance so that I can really get into the buffet after! The roast beef is to die for!”
“I’m coming,” I smiled, finally happy.
A couple standing at a wedding buffet | Source: Midjourney
What would you have done?
If you enjoyed this story, here’s another one for you:
I Asked My Grandmother to Walk Down the Aisle at My Wedding — My Family Demands That I Apologize for It
Just days before her wedding, Leah discovers that her grandmother didn’t have a wedding. Unable to sleep due to her grandmother having missed her opportunity, Leah wants her grandparents to have their moment and walk down the aisle. Instead of it playing out as Leah plans, she has to deal with a grandmother in a wedding dress, an embarrassed grandfather, and livid family members. Did she ruin her own wedding just to give her grandmother a memory?
“Tell me about your wedding, Gran,” I asked, rocking back and forth on the porch swing. The night was quiet, and we were a week away from my wedding.
A person sitting on a porch swing | Source: Midjourney
All I wanted to do was soak up the time I had left with my grandmother because once we were married, Nate and I would be moving away.
“Oh, honey, there wasn’t really a wedding. Your grandfather always promised, but it never happened,” she smiled, her eyes distant.
A smiling old woman | Source: Pexels
“Never?” I asked, frowning.
My grandmother shook her head.
“No. He didn’t even propose, Leah,” she said. “He always said that we’d get around to it eventually, but life just kept getting in the way. We raised our kids, took care of the house, and before I knew it, decades had passed.”
A woman washing dishes | Source: Unsplash
“But you are married, right?” I asked, trying to understand why my grandmother’s words felt like such a blow to me.
“Married, yes. Your grandfather took me down to the courthouse, and we signed away our single lives. He didn’t ask me; he just said that it was going to happen. And it did.”
The exterior of a court house | Source: Unsplash
My heart ached for her.
“But you wanted one, right? A wedding, I mean,” I pressed.
Her smile was wistful.
“I did, but I let go of that dream a long time ago. Now, come on, I’ll make you some hot chocolate before you leave.”
Two mugs of hot chocolate | Source: Midjourney
This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.
Meet the 8-Year-Old Who Created a Breathtaking Jesus Painting—Prepare to Be Amazed
Akiane Kramarik painted a beautiful picture of Jesus called “Prince of Peace” when she was just 8 years old. This amazing artwork was forgotten for 16 years after it was stolen, sold by mistake, and kept away in darkness. Now, it has been brought back to the light for everyone to see.
Now 28 years old, Akiane Kramarik is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is known for her beautiful spiritual paintings, which feature her amazing brushstrokes. When she painted “Prince of Peace,” she felt a strong urge, inspired by a recurring vision, to create an image of Jesus as a “profound role model for humanity.”
At just nine years old, Akiane appeared on the Oprah Show and showcased her art, which was much bigger than her small frame. Among her paintings was the famous portrait of Jesus, “Prince of Peace,” created with her special techniques.
“You’re obviously gifted. Where does this come from?” Oprah asked her.
“It comes from God,” Akiane confidently answered.
In another interview, when Akiane was just 10, she was asked how she knew it was God speaking to her. She replied, “Because I can hear His voice. His voice is quiet and beautiful.”
Interestingly, Akiane’s family is not religious, and they never talked about God in their small-town Idaho home.
“It wasn’t just art that was happening. Along with the art, there was a spiritual awakening,” said Akiane’s mother, Forelli Kramarik, who grew up in an atheistic family in Lithuania. “It all began when Akiane started sharing her dreams and visions. My husband, who was a former Catholic, did not share the same beliefs. We didn’t pray together, didn’t talk about God, and never went to church. Then suddenly, Akiane started talking about God.”
Akiane was homeschooled and didn’t have babysitters or a television, so she wasn’t influenced by anyone outside the home, her mother explained. “We were always with the kids, so we knew these words from Akiane about God didn’t come from outside influences. But suddenly, there were deep conversations about God’s love and His place in our lives, and she described everything in great detail.”
Akiane said her portrait of Jesus was inspired by a vision she had since she was a preschooler. She explained that she would illustrate her visions through poetry and writing, but it became too “complex to describe through words, so I painted.”
She added, “I always think about Jesus and talk about Him. I was searching for a model of Jesus for a long time. When I couldn’t find anyone, I suggested to my family that we pray all day for God to send the right one.”
The family prayed, and then a very tall carpenter—like Jesus, who was also a carpenter—showed up at their door looking for work. Akiane remembered almost fainting when she saw him. “I told my mother that was him. I want him to be my model,” she said.
Inspired by the image in her dreams and using the carpenter as her model, Akiane painted “Prince of Peace,” a painting that is now priceless and recognized all over the world.
“Prince of Peace” showcased Akiane’s vivid and detailed techniques, which were impressive for such a young artist. The painting was sent to an exhibition but was stolen during the journey. A few years later, it was finally returned to Akiane, but when it came back, it was covered in sawdust, which she carefully cleaned off.
The family tried to share Akiane’s spiritually inspired portrait with the world again, but a clerical mistake put the painting up for sale instead of for exhibition. “Prince of Peace” was sold to a private collector, and after a long court battle to get it back, which ended with the painting stored under a dark stairwell, Akiane decided to focus on creating new masterpieces, which received praise worldwide.
Not willing to lose hope, Akiane, whose talents helped lift her family from poverty, believed she would see her “Prince of Peace” again. In the meantime, she traveled to over 30 countries, helping different groups of people with her art and sharing her message of peace and spirituality. She also kept the memory of “Prince of Peace” alive by selling more than 100,000 prints.
In 2019, something incredible happened.
The “Prince of Peace” painting was put up for sale and purchased for $850,000 by an anonymous family. It’s said this family is “one of the world’s most distinguished and esteemed families.”
The new owners see themselves as the protectors of the original painting. They believe it is their mission to safeguard it for future generations, allowing its story to inspire and touch millions of people.
After almost 20 years, Akiane unwrapped her precious “Prince of Peace.” With tears in her eyes, she dropped to her knees. In a recent CBS interview, she said, “It was amazing to me. To be able to see this in the light again, after so many years.”
She added, “It’s still surreal to me. I’m not gonna lie… Love is so powerful. It will always show up on time for people who need it most.”
“Akiane: The Early Years,” showcasing the famous “Prince of Peace” painting, is now on display at the Belóved Gallery in Marble Falls, TX.
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