'My whole world crumbled when wedding was called off - but my dress didn't get wasted'

A woman made sure she got the use out of her wedding dress despite her wedding being called off and hopes she can inspire other women to still wear their dresses even if they don't end up getting hitched

A heartbroken bride came up with a master plan to "take her power back" after her wedding was called off at the final hour.

Lauren Scott-Berry cancelled her wedding after splitting up with her partner. But in a brave and bold move, she still made the most of her elegant £250 silk gown by wearing it around town.

Instead of having traditional wedding photos taken in her dress, the 34-year-old wowed onlookers as she visited the beach, a sweet shop and a play area while wearing her dress, paired with a tiara and wedding makeup done.

Lauren said the motivation behind the public stunt was so she could 're-write her narrative and take some power back' so she wouldn't view her doomed relationship like the Charles Dickens character Miss Havisham from Great Expectations. Miss Havisham was jilted at the altar and then insisted on wearing her wedding dress of the rest of her life.

Even though she only wore it for the day, Lauren said people gave their congratulations and she said it felt "really good". Now she's shared her experience online to inspire other women who may not have made it down the altar to still get use out of their dress.

A video has gone viral, racking up nearly 250,000 views. She captioned it: "I didn't take my wedding dress down the aisle so took it to the beach for an ice-cream instead." Lauren, who lives in Tower Hamlets, East London, said: "I was very worried that I'd never be able to look at it without viewing it as to do with the wedding. Miss Havisham-esque.

"I did think I might not ever get married but I don't want to never get to wear a wedding dress. I mainly wanted to re-write my own narrative and take some power back. I really felt like I'd lost so much. I'm in my 30s and we were talking about having children after being married. It felt like my whole future had crumbled.

"I suddenly felt like my maturity had been stripped away from me because being married is the next step in adulthood and people take you more seriously if you're a 'Mrs'. I felt like I took my power back, it was a gift. I'm happier now than I was in my relationship. I've grown in confidence a lot over the last year."

On the day the wedding was meant to be, Lauren had a photoshoot in her dress and said it gave her the inspiration to wear her frock out and about in more places. She added: "The dress made me feel 'princessy'. If I wasn't able to walk down the aisle I thought 'Why shouldn't I get to feel like this? I don't just want to be in the living room with my mum'.

"I wanted to take it out and feel like this and it be a shared experience. I wanted to do a photoshoot in it, I filmed a few things in local places, I intend to do more. When I went out to do the photos I was really nervous because I am from a little village. I know a lot of people knew I was engaged but not everyone knew I wasn't engaged anymore."

Lauren said she was worried people would come up to her and ask questions, as well as worrying there would be whispers around the village about the move. She explained: "I just didn't want people to come up to me and ask questions. I was a bit worried about that or that there'd be whispers around the village.

"When I stepped out I was like 'well, it doesn't matter'. Everyone was looking at me and smiling. Some people said 'congratulations' and I didn't even care. I just said 'thanks'. I felt really good. I do have a list. A lot of people have recommended places that they'd love to see me in."

Lauren said the nine-layered silk wedding dress was a dress of "dreams" that she'd picked up from a charity shop. She said it still made her feel "special" despite cancelling the wedding and said: "You always think about what you would have. Every little girl dreams of her wedding dress.

"When I went and picked it up from the store because I'd already paid for it, I tried it on again and just felt special. It didn't really matter that I wasn't getting married. The dress is so separate. Everything else we did together - we viewed the venues together, we talked about our music and everything together.

"My ex had obviously never seen the dress and had nothing to do with the choosing of it. It felt quite separate." Since sharing her day out in her dress online, Lauren said she's had a lot of positive comments about it.

"The response from people on TikTok has been so lovely. Strangers are telling me they're proud of me. Some people are like 'this is something I want to do'. There are other women who don't know what to do with their unused dress. Or some woman had traumatic events at their wedding and didn't get to experience it as they were supposed to."

"Just put it on and have a nice time, it doesn't matter if it's traditional or not," she said, as she hopes to inspire other women to still wear their dresses. Many users took to the comments on her video to praise Lauren's idea. One user wrote: "I'm incredibly proud of you, stranger," while another said: "You are a princess." A third penned: "What a magical idea and well put."

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