Washington, July 18 (IANS) Fiancees of US military personnel were given free wedding dresses by a boutique owned by a woman whose son is deployed in Afghanistan.

Ann Miller, who owns the Glitz Bridal and Formal wedding wear store in Bellevue, has a special military connection, the ABC News reported.

"My son's name is Tyler Miller. He is senior airman in the Air Force stationed in Afghanistan. This is his second deployment," Miller said.

The shop hopes to give away 40 wedding dresses in four days, as part of the Brides Across America programme, which has given away 3,000 free gowns since it started in 2007.

The gowns are free for any fiancee of an actively deployed military member, as well as wives of active servicemen who did not have a traditional wedding ceremony.

"I had a lot of girls call and say, 'Is this a scam? Are you really doing this?' Yeah, we're really giving dresses away," Miller laughed, "and some of them asked, 'Is there a catch to it? What do I have to do?'"

Vicky Lawton is married, but hopes to renew her vows when her husband returns from Afghanistan. "It'll be my first dress. I didn't get a dress the first time, so it'll be great."

"In our case, we didn't have a big wedding," said Ashley Stewart, whose husband is also in Afghanistan. "We're planning to renew our vows when he comes back and have a big wedding, so this helps out."