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Peachtree City bridal shop owner gifts wedding dress after condo fire tragedy

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Published  May 3, 2024 11:10pm EDT
Peachtree City
FOX 5 Atlanta

Bride-to-be's dress burns in fire

A Peachtree City bride whose wedding dress was destroyed in a fire will get a new one for free after her story aired on FOX 5. The original story was about firefighters rescuing her dog, but the bride-to-be desperately needed help.

PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. - A Peachtree City woman still has her large dog, but a condo fire claimed her wedding dress just two weeks before her wedding.  

FOX 5 reported last week about Shelley Joseph’s 10-year-old Newfoundland named Napoleon being found in her home as smoke filled it up. Firefighters dramatically rescued him. 

Unfortunately, that same blaze destroyed the dress she planned to wear on her wedding day. 

Sarah Heath saw that story online. Napoleon’s fate caught her attention as an animal lover, but when she learned of Shelley’s wedding dress as well. 

"My heart sank because she is a bride, and she is in our community. And a wedding dress getting burned up is every bride’s nightmare," Heath said. 

Sarah owns J. Andrew’s Bridal in Peachtree City. She jumped into action, although she calls it something else. 

"I started stalking her a little," Heath said. 

"My phone started blowing up," Joseph said. 

Sarah posted on social media that she would give Shelley a new dress for free and that news spread like, well fire. 

"I reached out to everybody I could get in touch with to find Shelley," Heath said. 

"Everyone who has seen the Facebook post started calling me at once," Joseph said. 

"Then she was here, and we were just able to find her a dress that she loved, and she looks so beautiful in." 

She really is the fairy godmother of this story. 

Dramatic dog rescue

Dramatic photos of Peachtree City firefighters rescuing a family's dog from their burning home. Rescuers say it was touch and go and wait until you hear how big this dog is.

FOX 5, of course, can’t show you the dress. That’s bad luck and Shelley doesn’t need any more of that. 

The outpouring of love and generosity has just been completely overwhelming. 

There is still a GoFundMe to help Shelley, her fiancé Chris and, of course, Napoleon. A supply store in Trilith, Pets Wants ATL South Metro, has donated food for the big guy. 

So, May 18 is Shelley’s big day. She is back on track thanks to Sarah and J. Andrew’s Bridal. In Peachtree City.