Woman plans on wearing her original wedding dress at her 50th wedding anniversary celebration

MEMPHIS, Tennessee -- Annie Barnes never throws anything away.

"I keep a lot of things. I probably should have thrown several things away, but I am a pack rat," Barnes said.

That habit will give her something special this March when she and husband Gene celebrate 50 years of marriage -- thanks to what she kept tucked away in box in the attic.

"I did save the wedding dress," Barnes said.

Nestled among keepsakes in an old box, it may be a little wrinkled, but still very much in tact -- her wedding dress from March 1967 -- a dress she made herself after seeing similar one in a store.

"I got the pattern, got the fabric and I put together what I could with what I had," Barnes said.

Now she plans to bring back what was and wear the dress when she and Gene renew their vows on March 26th of this year, a Sunday, just like it was on a Sunday in 1967 when they first said "I do."

"When I was looking at the calendar and I saw that our 50th is on a Sunday, March 26th, Sunday 2017, I got real excited then. I said we must do this. We must make a special effort to celebrate this day," Barnes said. "Something special would be wearing the dress that I wore 50 years ago."

"Well knowing Ann, it does not surprise me," said her husband Gene. "It doesn't surprise me she kept it. It doesn't surprise me she wants to wear it again. That's kind of the way she is. That's not a bad thing. That is a good thing."

Annie said the dress is a little snug, but that`s OK. She plans to send it to the cleaners and then do the alterations herself.

"I am not changing the hem. I haven't grown any. I am still 4'11," but the girth issue will have to be dealt with," she said. "It is too much fun. I can't even contain myself."

She`s just happy that the something 'old' on her wedding celebration won`t be an issue.

"I hadn't thought about that. Now you are getting me excited all over again," she said with a giggle.

Annie Barnes is documenting her anniversary and her original wedding dress.

By the way, she also has her prom dress from the 1960s.