On occasion, it’s the groom we worry may get cold feet and run from the altar. On March 9, it’s the bride—actually, a battalion of them—who'll be doing the running. The first “Dash to I Do” competition will be held on the rooftop bar at downtown’s W Hotel.

Brides on a beach--you get the idea.

^{Courtesy photo}

The event will benefit The Princess Project, a nonprofit that collects and distributes free prom dresses to high school girls in need.

The Dash To I Do will kickoff at 8 a.m. Spokesperson Peyton Robertson says the W Hotel’s Beach bar (yes, there’s sand on the ground) will be set up with a wedding theme. Preregistered brides-to-be will sprint from one end of Beach to the finish line, where they'll encounter a gift table heaped with boxes of assorted shapes and sizes.

The women—wearing bridesmaid gowns from yesteryears—will tear into the boxes, which will be filled with various messages, like, “Sorry, your fiancé got cold feet.” The wining box will contain the words: “I Do.”

Grand prize: A one-night stay at the W Hotel, a dinner at Alchemy, discount wedding services from Bliss Events and, for the betrothed who don’t want to get hitched all sallow and wrinkly, a couples’ spray tan and seaweed facial from Urban Calm.

The public is invited to attend the event and drop off “gently used” formal dresses (Monica Lewinsky seemingly not encouraged to attend).

“We’re hoping to get dresses that were ‘in’ over the last four years,” says Robertson. “We’re not looking for anything that’s really ratty or is really out of trend.”

The Princess Project started in San Francisco in 2002. There are three sites in the Bay Area and one in San Diego. Each spring, in preparation for prom season, The Princess Project holds giveaway events. For more information, go to princessproject.org.

(Check back on March 9 for pictures of the event...)