Everything really is bigger in Texas — trust me, I’m a born and raised Texan. Our food servings are huge, our weddings are extravagant, and our divorce parties are epic. Sure, the divorce party trend might be new, but it’s slowly gaining ground as a…
Everything really is bigger in Texas — trust me, I’m a born and raised Texan. Our food servings are huge, our weddings are extravagant, and our divorce parties are epic. Sure, the divorce party trend might be new, but it’s slowly gaining ground as a great way to move on from a marriage and take the time to mourn the loss of that relationship, however you need. Some people smash cakes, and some people, well, some prefer explosives. Yes, in Texas, a woman blew up her wedding dress to celebrate her divorce, and now I need to meet her.
According to The Today Show, a certain Kimberly Santleben-Stiteler spent last weekend celebrating her newly single self in the most original way possible. In an incredible video posted to Facebook by her sister, Carla Santleben-Newport, Santleben-Stiteler can be seen shooting her wedding dress (which was a safe distance away, no worries!) which was covered in 20 pounds of the explosive tannerite. The new Ms. hit the dress on her first try, and it immediately went up in flames. Oh, and this all took place at her father’s farm in LaCoste, Texas.
Additionally, as The Independent reported, the blast could be felt from 15 minutes away. In short, Santleben-Stiteler really let loose, and honestly? Good for her.
Speaking to The Today Show about the explosive party (sorry, couldn’t resist), Santleben-Newport said, „We have a friend who is a bomb tech and he kept saying, ‚That’s really a lot,‘ like five different times when we told him our plan,“ she said. „My dad and husband set the dress up at 100 yards from the barn on our family farm. Everyone was worried it was too close so they moved it out another 100 yards.“
No one was hurt, despite the explosion being heard from so far away, so it seems like the entire ordeal was all in good fun. In fact, as Santleben-Newport tells Elite Daily, there wasn’t even a hint of bitterness in the explosion:
This family just likes to have some good, old fashioned fun. In all honesty, your wedding dress is such a big part of your wedding day, that it makes sense Santleben-Stiteler wanted some symbolic closure in destroying it. And considering the fact that they did so safely, then there’s no harm done. Well, wedding dress aside.
According to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Santleben-Stiteler explained that her reasoning behind blowing up her dress was important. „I wanted to remove all things from our marriage from our house,“ she said, per the newspaper. „Photos in the attic, ring in the safe (but probably going to sell it) and the dress I wanted to burn. I had a lot of advice and suggestions from friends and family, like donating it for premature babies and baptism gowns. However, to me, the dress represented a lie. I wanted to have a divorce party to burn the dress.“
Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do. For Santleben-Stiteler, that meant blowing up her wedding dress to celebrate her divorce. To each their own, but if you’re thinking of doing something similar to commemorate a breakup, you might want to make sure you’re at a safe distance and that you have help from a professional. Oh, and warn your neighbors.
