Show TtTriirYf- ' i' 'nMfiiii i" ' Vffi ij-- i Iifftfi'fi tffr Planning must include approved gowns temple time By HridThuMon Herald Journal staff writer It’s fortunate for Eileen Johnson that she moved here from her family home in Alaska She needs a medal kind of wedding dress and Utah is one of the few places she can find a wide variety of the kind she needs As an LDS bride Johnson faces several unique challenges in planning her wedding Among them is the need to find a dress that is not only beautiful but also modest Brides in traditional Mormon weddings must meet strict modesty guidelines and when revealing chesses are all the rage in bridal shops across the nation it can be difficult to find an appropriate dress “There’s a lot of modest ones here It was nice to be in Utah because there are none like that in Alaska None” Johnson says Meriene Featherstone who is a matron at the Logan Temple where LDS weddings are performed agrees that one of die biggest challenges faced by brides is finding an appropriate dress for the temple ceremony Dresses must be white (not ivory or cream) d without colored beads or trim have a modest neckline and have no unlined sheer material and trains must be removable or pinned up while inside the temple Dresses with short sleeves are permitted if fee bride wean inserts to cover her arms while in the temple Featherstone says it isn’t as difficult as it might seem to find modest dresses in fee area perhaps because there are so many LDS women in Cache Valley that bridal shops have learned to cater to their needs “There have been many many brides feat come in wife fee cutest most modest dresses” Featherstone says “I have not heard any of the girls in the last few months that said they just had to scour the town for a dress” Featherstone also has a simple tip to help brides make sure their dress is the right shxle of white — hold a piece of paper up to the fabric If it matches it’s temple-read- y Another unique facet to LDS weddings is that Mormons believe marriages performed in the temple last for eternity not just “‘til death do you part” Featherstone says Tb LDS members the temple is a sacred place and so only faithful Mormons may enter fee temple and attend marriage ceremonies Couples may have a hard time explaining to their nonmember relatives and friends why they cannot attend Johnson says feat some of her friends will not be able to attend her wedding ceremony because they are not LDS If this is the case Featherstone says there isa beautiful waiting room that anyone can enter long-sleeve- - See LDS on p 11 MUch MascarWHamU Journal Eileen Johnson must choose a weddng dress suitable for her ceremony In the Logan LDS Ibmple |