Wedding disaster. After returning from vacation with my fiance Ryan Dawkins, Clare Crawley found her wedding dress stolen, but says it was fate.
“I know I always share this, but I’m a deep, deep believer that everything has to happen the way it has to happen, whether it looks good or bad, whether it’s what I want or not, what i want I believe deep down that everything happens for a reason. And we may not know what that reason is right now, but it works. So let me tell you what happened,” the former single, 41, told her Instagram Story viewers on Saturday, January 28.
She continued: “When Ryan and I got back from Hawaii earlier this week, my car was broken into while we were gone. And guess what was in the car? Remember my wedding is very soon. My wedding dress was in my car! It was in there because I would have to take it to get the last change and I wanted to remember to not forget it.’
Unfortunately, the burglar stole the wedding dress before she returned. The theft disappointed and upset the former Male contestant, especially since her big day is just around the corner.
“In an instant it was like ‘Uhhhhh, what do I do?’ And I thought, ‘It’s okay. It’s about the moment and what we’re celebrating. I can wear anything and I’ll be glad we’re there.” So I went to get my veil…and I talked to the owner and it was the sweetest thing in the whole world. I just told her, ‘Forgive me now. It just happened.’”
The bridal shop owner turned into Crawley’s fairy godmother and found the perfect replacement. “Basically, in three days I got a brand new dress, altered, smoothed, completely redone in the best way, like an even better fit. Turns out it was a wedding dress that was on my Pinterest board three years ago. This is the dress of my dreams,” Crawley snapped.
“I have to say it’s all because of the owner, Rae. She actually picked out a dress and said to herself, ‘Put this on here.’ And I was like, ‘Okay, I’ll wear anything!’ And it literally turned out where – it’s going to make me cry,” California said as her eyes began to water. “This is the most beautiful dress and it’s better than I could have imagined. So, [I’m] she still cries happy tears, but everything works out as it should — and sometimes even better. Even in the moment when it looks like something is not good, I think it turns out better. It turns out the way it has to turn out.”
By changing her dress, she has “something new”. She also showed off her “something borrowed” and “something blue” on Saturday. She will wear a pair of borrowed diamond earrings, and her handkerchief is embroidered with the words “Happy Tears” in blue thread.
“How cute is this handkerchief? I won’t lie. My eyes popped out when I opened this,” the hairstylist said via Instagram Story on Saturday. “I feel like I’m really emotional right now because we’re getting married soon and it’s really everything I’ve ever dreamed of and even better. And better. So I’m so excited.”
Crawley and Dawkins started dating quietly in 2021, but didn’t go public with their relationship until September 2022, one month before the Mascot Sports CEO proposed.
