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More than 30 bridal gowns will be on the catwalk in a unique Wedding Dresses through the Decades show this month.
The show is a fundraiser for Hibiscus Hospice, and was put together by Women’s Fundraising Committee member Yvonne Payne, who is also a volunteer life story writer for patients.
She says “three years of conversations” have gone into the show including sourcing the dresses and gathering stories from the brides or their families.
She says weddings often come up when she is writing hospice patients’ stories.
“The idea for the show started when I was doing a biography for a patient in her 80s and she was so excited telling me about how she convinced her parents that she could go overseas to meet up with the love of her life.”
Gowns from the 1950s to the present day will feature – the more recent ones modelled by the brides themselves and others by the bride’s daughters or granddaughters.
Some are the work of well-known NZ or British fashion designers, others were made by family members. Not all are white. Yvonne says the 2000s and 2010s in particular brought in a trend for different coloured gowns.
Every dress has a story, which Yvonne will delight in telling the audience about – whether that’s about fashion, the wedding day or the bride and groom.
“The stories really bring each dress to life,” she says. “I’ve heard some hilarious ones – in one case, the mother-in-law went on honeymoon with the couple!”
Wedding Dresses through the Decades is on May 20, at Whangaparāoa College auditorium, Delshaw Ave, Stanmore Bay, 3pm.
