A San Antonio bride-to-be who thought her Halloween wedding was ruined after her dress was stolen from her front porch experienced an extraordinary act of kindness instead.
Kathleen Sanchez had planned to wear a striking black off-the-shoulder gown that flared at the hips for her Halloween-themed ceremony. But according to local outlet KENS5, her plans were derailed when a thief snatched the package right off her porch.
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“We were gonna do a big thing at Pico de Gallo and I already bought the cake, already got all the nice things for it. Now it’s at the point where I’m like, do we just have to wait until next year?” the teacher said on Oct. 16.
At eight months pregnant, Sanchez had purchased her dream dress for about $80 from a third-party Amazon seller. It took nearly two weeks to arrive — only to vanish the same day it was delivered. Her Ring doorbell had stopped working, and none of her neighbors’ cameras caught the culprit. “I have my ringer on, I have everything on that says ‘Your package is one stop away.’ But I didn’t get any notification, no picture, no anything,” she said.
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Fearing a replacement wouldn’t arrive in time, Sanchez began to lose hope. But then a good Samaritan who saw her story on TV reached out — and decided to buy her the exact same gown. The kind stranger ensured it arrived in time for the big day and even delivered it personally to Sanchez’s school, along with a warm hug.
“She told me, ‘Don’t let anyone, especially the person who took your dress, steal your joy. Enjoy your wedding day,’” Sanchez recalled in an update to KENS5. “She said my story touched her and she wanted to bless me with this gift.”
Sanchez wore the replacement dress to marry her longtime love, Andres Martinez, pairing it with a black veil and matching accessories. Her baby bump, with soon-to-arrive daughter Carmen Rosa, was proudly on display.
“Honestly, it was such an incredible and emotional experience,” Sanchez told the outlet. “I never imagined a complete stranger would go out of their way to help make my dream wedding possible. It reminded me that there’s still so much kindness and goodness in the world.”
