You've heard the old warning about waving red in front of a bull.
A department store eagerly waved white in front of hundreds of amped-up brides-to-be on Friday in a chaotic tradition known as the "Running of the Brides."
"It was crazy," said successful competitor Lauren Grace of Woodbridge, N.J.
Cast members from the Broadway show "Mamma Mia!" were even on hand for the noisy Manhattan event, which was punctuated by cheers when brides nailed their prey.
Organizers said dresses originally priced up to $10,000 were going for $249 to $699.
Grace was among the victors. "I got a bargain. It was $499, originally $3,000," she said.
She said she and her shopping team had stayed overnight at a hotel. They arrived outside the store at 4 a.m. and waited four hours before they were allowed to pounce on the deeply discounted dresses at the Filene's Basement/SYMS event.
It was a bittersweet moment for Grace. She shed some tears while thinking of her late mother, but then regained her good spirits while leading the charge along with her bridesmaid, maid of honor, friend and aunt.
They'd worked out a system in advance: two of them ran in and grabbed a spot, three others hoarded dresses and they all carried yellow balloons — Grace's wedding color — to locate each other in the chaos.
Grace tried on dresses over her shorts and tank top. "I was a little more modest than some people, to say the least," she said. "Some people were down to their undergarments," right there in the aisles.
She's hoping to prevent her groom from learning too much about the gown; she wants him to be surprised during their big moment on April 28, 2012.
(Read by Nelly Min. Nelly Min is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
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(Agencies)
你肯定聽說過不要在公牛面前晃紅布這一由來已久的忠告。
但在上周五「新娘快跑」婚紗促銷活動中，一家百貨商店卻在數百名興奮不已的準新娘面前展示出白色婚紗，使得這一傳統的促銷活動場面略顯混亂。
來自新澤西州伍德布裡奇的勞倫•格雷斯成功搶到了婚紗，她說：「簡直太瘋狂了。」
這場婚紗促銷在曼哈頓舉辦，百老匯劇目《媽媽咪呀》的演員們也在場。喧鬧的場面不時被新娘成功搶到婚紗時的驚呼打斷。
組織者表示，原價高達一萬美元的婚紗售價僅為249美元至699美元。
格雷斯是獲勝者之一。她說：「我搶到了便宜貨，花499美元就買到了原價三千美元的婚紗。」
她表示自己和「親友團」前晚住在了賓館，清晨4點就趕到店門口，在可以進門搶購超低價打折婚紗前苦等4個小時。此次活動由折扣零售商SYMS公司旗下的菲妮斯地下商場舉辦。
搶購婚紗的時刻對格雷斯來說可謂苦樂參半。她想到了已故的母親，流下了淚水，但隨後又打起精神來和伴娘、女儐相、友人及姨媽一同衝到搶購最前沿。
她們提前制定了攻略：兩人衝進商店佔領陣地，三人搶婚紗，所有的親友都舉著象徵格雷斯婚禮主色調的黃色氣球，以便在混亂的人群中找到彼此。
格雷斯試穿婚紗時僅穿著短褲和背心。她說：「最起碼我比有些人注意多了，走廊裡有些試衣的新娘只穿了內衣。」
她希望儘量不讓新郎知道婚紗的樣子，希望在2012年4月28日的婚禮當天給他一個驚喜。
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（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯：Helen）