Getting to the dress on time

By CASEY CORA
Published June 15, 2007

Angelice Smith of Lakeland, rushes towards a dressing room in the Goodwill Retail Store on W. Hillsborough Ave. early Thursday morning with one of the wedding dressed she tried on.
	[Times photo: Ken Helle]

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Ken Helle] Angelice Smith and her wedding coordinator, Omega Mothersill (right), share a laugh as Smith tries on one of the wedding gowns at the Goodwill Retail Store on W. Hillsborough Ave.

TAMPA - As the first pair in a line of 300, Omega Mothersill and Angelice Smith of Lakeland had a strategy.

"Buy now, pick out later." Mothersill said.

Good plan.

A half-hour and $625 later, they walked away with two wedding gowns from Thursday's predawn sale at the Goodwill store at 4102 W Hillsborough Ave.

"That's a steal, " she added.

Made possible by a donation from St. Petersburg's CC's Boutique, the two-day sale is designed to soften budget cuts made to programs for persons with disabilities, said Goodwill Industries-Suncoast spokeswoman Michael Ann Harvey.

Harvey expects the sale to net more than $30, 000 if all dresses are sold.

"This happy promotion will offset some of those losses, " Harvey said.

But none of that really seemed to matter to those lined up around the store. "A designer dress for less than nothing?" said Beth Bartlett, 37. "I'm all over that."

Melissa Decker, 19, of Spring Hill, started her maid-of-honor duties for her sister Kelly's April 2008 nuptials early. Way early. "Wake up at 4 a.m. and head down to Tampa, " she said, half-kidding.

But their punctuality paid off, too. They walked out of the store with three wedding dresses. The cost? $975.

Not everyone was as lucky.

As the racks emptied inside, the mood grew tense outside.

"I should have been here sooner, " said Janis Johnson, 62, a widowed retiree from Tampa standing in line.

The sale continues today in St. Petersburg at the Goodwill store at 10596 Gandy Blvd. Word to the wise: Get there before doors open at 6 a.m.

Casey Cora can be reached at 813226-3386 or at ccora@sptimes.com

[Last modified June 15, 2007, 01:18:07]