None of Her Daughters Wanted to Wear Her Wedding Dress. So She Decided to Surprise Them (Exclusive)

• Kimberly Mann was talking to a friend about what to do with her wedding dress, when her friend suggested she transform the gown into a special robe for her daughters to wear on their wedding days

• She reached out to a company that could help, and at the right time, she surprised her daughters — one a bride-to-be — with the sentimental item

• One of her daughters filmed the moment and posted it to TikTok, where it quickly went viral

Growing up, Kimberly Mann didn’t have a lot of money. So, after she walked down the aisle in her big, puffy white wedding dress, her mom was insistent on having it professionally preserved. Kimberly, now 59, tells PEOPLE it was her mom’s way of showing how important that moment was.

Years later, Kimberly was hopeful one of her three daughters might want to wear the dress on their own wedding days. But once she realized that none of them had interest, she knew transforming it into something special for all of them was the best option — and she had no doubts about it.

"I reached out to Unbox the Dress in Winston-Salem, North Carolina — and they were amazing from the very beginning," Kimberly says. "You could tell right away how passionate they are about what they do. During the initial phone call, it was clear they were genuinely excited to receive and redesign my dress, which made me even more excited for the process."

"Within a few days, a big, empty box arrived for me to send the dress in," she continues. "Once they received it, one of the designers gave me a call, and we talked through my vision and the specific details I wanted to keep."

After a little more back and forth, Kimberly's vision, which came from the suggestion of a friend, was brought to life: a bridal robe made from her gown. "It was such a special and seamless experience," she says.

For Kimberly, the hardest part was coming to terms with the fact that she'd never see her dress the same way again. But once she moved past that, "it just felt right," she says. "Instead of letting it sit in a box forever, I found a new way to give it life and make it even more meaningful."

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Recently, it was her eldest daughter Rachel's bridal shower, and Kimberly decided it was the perfect time to tell her daughters about the surprise. However, since the robe was a gift meant for all three women, the mom decided not to include it as part of the official shower gifts.

So, after the shower ended, she gathered her family outside and told her daughters they were about to open something they’d each wear on their wedding day. At first, they were a little confused — they didn’t quite get what it was. But once Kimberly told them it was her wedding dress, transformed into a robe, their reactions were priceless.

"They were so touched … they even cried," the mom says. "It was such a beautiful, emotional moment — one I’ll never forget."

"I’m having each of the girls’ names professionally embroidered on individual pieces of satin, and then those will be sewn into the robe about a week before their wedding day," she adds. "Each daughter will have her own special piece, so it becomes even more personal when it’s their turn to wear it. It’s my way of making sure the robe keeps evolving with each of their love stories."

At the time of the unboxing, one of her daughters Kristina, 21, had been filming and happened to capture the moment on camera. The next day, she posted it to her TikTok account, then quickly watched as the video went viral, amassing nearly 1 million views and even capturing the attention of creator Alix Earle.

"I was genuinely so shocked — in the best way," Kristina tells PEOPLE. "I had no idea she was doing this, and when I found out, I was honestly really proud of her. No offense to my mom but she’s not exactly known for being tech-savvy, so the fact that she figured this all out online and pulled it off without any help from me or my sisters? Amazing. I was just super impressed and touched at the same time."

"Reading the comments honestly made me feel so grateful — not just for my mom, but for my whole family," she continues. "One comment that really stuck with me said, 'Rich. Rich in love.' And that hit me, because that’s exactly how I feel. We’re super close, and I’ve always felt like I have everything I need just because I have them. It was really special to see that come through to people who don’t even know us."

For Kimberly, in many ways, she feels like this robe is a gift from her mother, who's no longer with them. She adds how if weren’t for her mom's determination to preserve her wedding dress all those years ago, this beautiful robe wouldn’t even exist.

"I like to think of it as something she gave not just to me and my daughters, but to future generations too — their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren," Kimberly says. "It’s more than just a robe. It’s a piece of our family’s love story that will live on."

"I’m really just looking forward to sharing this experience with my mom and sisters," Kristina adds. "It’s such a special memory already, and the fact that these robes will be part of all our big moments moving forward — weddings, babies, whatever life brings — makes it even more meaningful."

Read the original article on People