A stunning exhibition focusing on the bride and her dress will open Saturday, June 27, at the Museum of the Albemarle. "I DO! Weddings in the Albemarle, 1831-2015" also gives a nod to top hats, trousseaus, suits, vests and other wedding trimmings. The free exhibit runs until December 2017.
An interactive "Wedding Experience" space will allow future couples to plan their dream wedding. In the museum shop, they will find an array of jewelry and fashion accessories, books on wedding style and advice, and handcrafted items to decorate the newlyweds' home.
Wedding dresses have been the special days' centerpiece throughout history. While the exhibit focuses on the wedding dress, it includes the groom, accessories, where they were married and the reception. During the mid-1800s, brides wore hourglass shaped gowns with puffed sleeves, usually in white satin or silk with decorative inlays. The bustle, long trains and trousseaus, even shorter dresses with uneven hemlines, all were period fashion trends.
The second section examines dresses from the 1930s until current trends. Evening gowns influenced by cinema and current events came into fashion in the 1930s. Suits became popular during the Great Depression and dresses became simpler during the World War II. Dresses of the '80s followed the trends of Princess Diana and the TV show "Dynasty" with wide shoulders, puffy sleeves and rich, decorative bodices.
Today's brides are returning to more formal traditions while injecting their own fun, eco-friendly, nontraditional ideas. Brides select different colors, lengths and trims or may choose casual or outdoor weddings and want shorter dresses. Some find that special dress at a local clothing drive and bring back a style from the past.
In addition to period attire, the exhibition will share the stories of people who lived in the Albemarle Region. You'll see the dress of Alma Blanchard, who married in a double wedding in 1937 in Gatesville, and the white gloves of Joyce Boyce from 1966.
The image of Lake Drummond Hotel in the Dismal Swamp is included. It was known as the "Halfway House" because couples from Virginia chose to elope there since the age for marriage was lower in North Carolina. Another image is of newlyweds Marie Bennett and James Diggins taken in 1945 in Norfolk, who later resided in Creswell. Her grandfather had been enslaved at Creswell's Somerset Plantation, now Somerset Place State Historic Site.
Current images include the modern, yet vintage and rustic, reception decorations of Jessica Johnson and Chad Auten in Edenton in 2014. There is a collage of images from the "Jumping the Broom" ceremony of Michelle Riddick and Alphonso Hudson in 1993. They incorporated the West African practice in their ceremony at Somerset Place.
For more information please call (252) 335-1453. These and other items and stories await you at the Museum of the Albemarle, part of the Division of State History Museums in the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources. The Museum of the Albemarle is located at 501 S. Water St., Elizabeth City.