This June wedding dressings from the mid-1800s to present day will be displayed in the Jones Gallery. Our guests will start their tour with the beautifully hand crafted wedding dress of Mrs. J. G. Deprez who was married over 140 years ago.
Many dresses will be accompanied by their original veils, accessories, photos of the brides and memories shared by the bride or family if possible. Each dress will help tell the story of Shelby County brides as they celebrated their union during times of war and peace, poverty and wealth.
While the museum is lucky to have several dresses in our collection, we hope to display at least one dress from each decade if possible.
That’s where you come in! If you have a wedding dress of a former Shelby County bride or still have your own, please consider donating the dress to our collection or loaning it to us for this display.
If you are interested, please submit a photo of the dress along with information about the dress including the date worn. If we have multiple submissions from a particular era we may only accept a few dresses.
In addition to donating wedding dresses, we are in desperate need of mannequins and dress forms to help with this exhibit and others in the future.
If you happen to have one at home and would be willing to donate or loan to the museum, please feel free to drop it by the museum or call the office to schedule a time for it to be picked up from your home.
If you don’t have a mannequin lying around but are interested in helping us safely display some of our beautiful textiles, please consider sponsoring a mannequin or making a donation to go towards this project.
A sponsorship of $125 will cover the cost of a simple dress form, taxes and shipping and handling fees.
If you have any questions regarding the exhibit, donations or sponsorships, please contact Sarah Newkirk, Assistant Director.
