Hung like the latest fashions in wedding attire, six dresses were proudly displayed in a window of Times Square in New York City. However, there was one considerably important difference in these gowns. They are not made from lace, chiffon or satin. No, they are made from toilet paper; Charmin, to be exact. Also, they weren’t hung in the window of any prominent wedding gown retailer either, but the “odditorium” of Ripley’s Believe It or Not! These dresses were designed for part of a unique contest held by Cheap-Chic-Weddings.com. This was actually their fourth running of the annual Toilet Paper Wedding Dress contest, sponsored by Charmin and Ripley’s Believe It or Not! The winner of the contest won $1,000 for their design and it was displayed in New York City’s Ripley’s Believe It or Not! location in Times Square.
This year’s winner was Katrina Chalifoux of Rockford, Illinois. For two weeks, she labored over her design, a sheath dress with a raised floral pattern made from molded toilet paper. Runner ups were Terri Glover of Marlin, Texas and Ann Kagawa Lee of Honolulu, Hawaii. Terri Glover’s design featured lace and beads and also had exquisite detail. She won $500 for her entry. Ann Kagawa Lee won $250 for her design, which was also very elegant in design, featuring a corset type bodice.
The three finalists were flown to New York for the final judging event that was held at Ripley’s. Judges were from both Ripley’s and Charmin.
These dresses were just a few of the 564 entries that the contest had this year. The dresses are actually wearable and Katrina Chalifoux’s niece modeled the dress in the entry photos that were sent in for the contest.
