“It was a moment that I’ll forever hold close to my heart and never forget,” the bride tells PEOPLE of surprising her grandparents
Chrissie Mellett married Chris Allingham in an intimate ceremony on April 5 at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in River Edge, N.J.
The bride surprised her 83-year-old grandparents, Denis and Patricia Lynch, by wearing her grandmother’s 62-year-old wedding dress
“It took my grandma just a second to realize it was her dress. She said to me, ‘Chrissie, is that my dress?’ Then we both started crying. I think everyone who was in the room started tearing up at that point,” Mellett tells PEOPLE
An 83-year-old woman was brought to tears when she saw her granddaughter wearing her wedding dress for her own big day.
Chrissie Mellett, 29, and Chris Allingham, 30, tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on April 5 at St. Peter the Apostle Roman Catholic Church in River Edge, N.J. In attendance was the bride’s grandparents, Denis and Patricia Lynch, who were moved by her decision to wear Patricia’s 62-year-old wedding dress.
“You will never know how much you filled my heart with love and appreciation today,” Mellett’s grandmother told her after the ceremony. “I appreciate it more now on you than I did on me at 21 years old.”
Denis and Patricia, both 83, got married when they were 21 years old on April 20, 1963 at the Roman Catholic Church of St. Michael in Palisades Park. For the wedding, Patricia wore a floor-length gown with long sleeves, a scoop neckline, floral appliques and silk buttons running down the back.
She bought the dress that year from Roses Bridal Shoppe, which was inside the Bergen Mall in Paramus. It cost around $400-$500, which was a higher price for that time period due to the dress’ silk and peau de soie fabric.
“My great grandma (my grandma’s mom) was a seamstress,” Mellett tells PEOPLE. “My grandma said she really helped her design the dress. She was pulling all the strings and telling the person who made the dress what she wanted on it and where.”
About a year ago, Mellett tried on both her mother’s and grandmother’s wedding dresses for “fun.” Although the gowns were “wrinkled and a little worn,” having been stored for several decades, they were still “absolutely stunning.”
“We were all laughing as I tried them on — they didn’t quite fit since both my mom and grandma are tiny — but it was such a sweet, fun thing to do together before I officially started shopping for a dress,” says Mellett, who will have a second wedding celebration on April 26 at Indian Trail Club in Franklin Lakes. “None of us thought much of it at the time, but I remember loving how my grandma’s dress looked on me. It has this timeless, classic elegance that you just don’t see anymore.”
“The moment I put the dress on, I couldn’t stop smiling,” she adds. “It fit perfectly, and I felt so elegant and beautiful in it.”
When Mellett and Allingham decided to have a church wedding before their larger nuptials, the bride “immediately knew” she wanted to wear her grandmother’s wedding dress “for that special moment.”
“I knew it would mean so much to her—and it would give both her and my poppy a chance to relive their own wedding day, all these years later,” Mellett says.
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Wanting to “preserve the original style as much as possible,” very few alterations were made to the gown. The bust had to be released slightly in order to fit Mellett’s body properly, and she removed the petticoat from underneath the skirt to give the dress more of an A-line silhouette.
“Once we made those adjustments, the dress fell longer and just grazed the floor — it fit perfectly,” Mellett explains. “I wanted to honor the way my grandma wore it on her wedding day and keep it as similar as possible, while also feeling like myself!”
Mellett didn’t tell Denis or Patricia that she chose the dress for her church ceremony. It wasn’t until she invited them over to her parents’ new townhouse in Harrington Park to take group photos together before the wedding that they saw what she’d be wearing.
“My grandparents had no idea I would be wearing it — it was a complete surprise,” Mellett says. “Before walking down the stairs all the emotions hit me — excited, nervous and everything in between. I couldn’t wait to show my grandma!”
@chrissiem3 Surprising my grandma in her wedding dress is a moment I'll never forget. Letting her and my poppy relive their wedding day 62 years later 🤍🥹 April 20, 1963 April 5, 2025 #wedding #weddingdress #grandma #bestsurprise ♬ Slipping Through My Fingers – ABBA
Mellett posted a video on TikTok of her grandparents’ reactions to seeing her in the wedding dress as she walked down the stairs. They stared at her in shock before getting emotional and embracing her.
“It took my grandma just a second to realize it was her dress. She said to me, ‘Chrissie, is that my dress?’ Then we both started crying,” Mellett recalls. “I think everyone who was in the room started tearing up at that point. Once my poppy realized, emotions took over, we were all crying and hugging. It was a moment that I’ll forever hold close to my heart and never forget.”
Now, Mellett plans to preserve the dress like her grandmother did.
“As the oldest of five siblings and eight grandkids — and the first to get married — there’s something really special about being the first to carry on this tradition,” the bride says.
Mellett adds, “Maybe one day, one of my sisters or cousins will want to wear it too. Or who knows, if I’m lucky enough to have children and grandchildren of my own, I hope the dress will continue to be part of our family’s love stories!”
