By the front counter of Becker’s there’s a mirror in a weathered wooden frame. Since 1934, most every Becker’s bride has stood in front of it, usually with her mother looking over her shoulder. Some cultures think a mirror captures your soul, and Shelley, the store’s current owner, agrees. “I like to think that every bride who looks into that old mirror is connected to every bride who came before her,” she says.

She wonders: What became of all those women who wiped away happy tears in front of this mirror? Which ones got divorced? Which brides lived to be old women, their marriages growing richer each year?

A few lived long enough to see great-grandchildren buy their dresses at Becker’s.

Some brides said they felt a boost from these women whose images remained embedded in that mirror – that in a way, maybe these brides from long ago were rooting for them.