NEED TO KNOW
- Bianca Corso has been with her today-fiancé for nearly a decade and got engaged in January 2024
- In 2016, when Corso was just 20 years old, her mother died of cancer
- During her bridal shower, Corso’s future mother-in-law gave her a gift that will forever serve as a powerful reminder of her late mother
At her summer bridal shower in Providence, R.I., Bianca Corso received a gift that left the entire rave in tears.
The 29-year-old’s future mother-in-law presented her with a handsewn getting-ready dress made from two irreplaceable pieces of fabric: one from Corso’s late mother’s wedding gown, as well as her own.
The surprise was more than just a thoughtful gesture – it was a deeply symbolic tribute to Corso’s mother, Marie, who died just two weeks after receiving a shocking stage 4 liver and lung cancer diagnosis in 2016.
Her mother, aged 65, had never smoked and didn’t drink alcohol, making the build-up of unexplained symptoms and final diagnosis all the more heartbreaking.
“Losing your mom at any age is hard, but especially as young as 20, which is such a pivotal time in your life,” Corso tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Navigating life without my mom has been extremely hard and grieving never really ends; it just comes in waves or gets a little easier to withstand.”
As Corso prepares for her wedding day — set to take place in Tuscany, Italy, in October 2025 — the custom-made dress today represents not only the love of the mother she lost, but also the support and care of the mother figure she is gaining.
Courtesy of Bianca Corso
She and her fiancé, Alex, have been together for over nine years and got engaged in January 2024. Their wedding will officially mark their 10th anniversary.
Planning a wedding without her mother, however, has been very hard on Corso. “I want to pick up the phone and call her to tell her all about our plans and ideas,” Corso admits. “It really just puts all of the things she is missing and can’t be here for right in front of me; it hits you like a truck at times.”
Courtesy of Bianca Corso
Nevertheless, over the years, Corso has been lucky enough to build a strong relationship with her future mother-in-law, Sharon. “Since day one, she has been nothing but warm and welcoming to me,” she reveals.
Corso had always known her mother-in-law planned to make her a custom dress to wear while getting ready before the ceremony – something they had talked about for years, given her mother-in-law’s talent for sewing.
When Sharon asked for Corso’s late mother’s wedding dress, she assumed it would be used in a small, sentimental way. Corso expected a thoughtful detail, not the emotional weight of what was revealed.
Courtesy of Bianca Corso
Unbeknownst to her, the final design also included lace from Sharon’s own wedding gown.
“I had no idea how she was going to utilize my mom’s dress and also didn’t know she was going to incorporate her own lace,” she says. “So the finished dress was all a beautiful surprise to me!”
When she finally received the handmade gift, Corso was overwhelmed with emotion. The beauty of the dress took her by surprise, but it was the thought and care behind it that truly moved her.
“I also felt so loved and seen, for her to think about including my mom in such a sentimental way,” Corso shares. “I am a very sentimental person as it is, so also feeling the beading from my mom’s dress and knowing she wore them made me feel really emotional and nostalgic.”
Courtesy of Bianca Corso
On the day of her wedding, Corso also plans on honoring her mother in a number of other ways during the ceremony and reception.
In addition to the getting-ready dress, the bride plans to reserve a seat for her mother at the ceremony, marked with a sign. Guests will be invited to place a flower on her chair as they arrive.
She also intends to wear her mother’s favorite perfume on the big day – a scent that instantly brings back memories and makes her feel close to her.
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Courtesy of Bianca Corso
Framed photos of her mother in her wedding dress will be displayed at the rehearsal dinner and reception, but today some guests will also be able to see the dress details up close.
“It means everything to me to have a piece of both of them with me on my wedding day,” Corso says. “Knowing that I will have a small piece of my mom with me, physically on my body, on my wedding day, brings me a lot of comfort. It is like I have her touch with me all morning.”
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