Ted Osborne had the wedding-bell blues this afternoon.

Wearing a bridal gown, Osborne sat inside the Jackson Coffee Co., buying 16-ounce drinks for customers for an hour after losing a bet.

Osborne, a Jackson District Court officer, was working with his son, Craig Osborne, on a house foreclosure and was sure they wouldn’t be able to complete the paperwork by their deadline. He was so confident in fact, that he was willing to bet on it.

“I knew we’d never make it,” Osborne said. “So I told him that if we did, I’d go sit for an hour in a wedding dress and buy everyone drinks.”

The paperwork was filed on time. So, true to his word, the 70-something Osborn slipped into a little white wedding gown and sat in the coffeehouse’s lower dining area from noon to 1 p.m.

He even had his hair done.

“I didn’t know about any of this until (Friday) morning,” said Brian Surgener, who owns the coffee shop, 201 S. Mechanic St. “When he came in and told me about the bet, I just laughed. I told him ‘OK, let’s do this.’”

Surgener opened a tab at the register in Osborne’s name and charged all lunch-hour drink purchases to the account. Many spent their lunch hour taking in the free coffee and the spectacle.

“We work nearby and we heard rumors, so we came to check it out,” said Paul Blake, who came with his wife, Dana, to receive a free drink. “This’ll probably cost (Osborne) a fortune.”

It did. Osborne’s tab was $160 — which surely won’t be covered by his dowry. All told, he bought 51 people teas, coffees and smoothies.

“It’s not about the money,” said Osborne, a mere 20 minutes into his stint. “I’ll be fine, but I’ll be glad when this is over.

"I don’t think white is my color.”