I couldn’t afford a designer gown, so I found a stunning vintage wedding dress in a thrift store. My wealthy future in-laws were less than impressed. As I walked down the aisle, whispers and snickers rippled through the guests about my “cheap” dress. Then, in the middle of the ceremony, the scrape of a chair broke the silence. My mother-in-law rose to her feet, eyes locked on me. “I need to say something,” she declared. My heart sank, bracing for humiliation—yet the words that followed stunned e