Bridal event showcases historical connections
Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.
The expression familiar to so many brides will be one of many traditions highlighted at “Bridal Legends: A Weekend of Tea, Traditions and Tinseltown” next month at Stephens College.
The two-day event will feature events geared toward brides-to-be and those in the bridal business, including a tea with three vintage collections of wedding dresses on display.
The event will feature guest speakers Sandy Schreier, author of “Hollywood Dressed and Undressed” and owner of the world’s largest collection of French couture and American fashion and film costumes, and Cornelia Powell, former associate editor of Vogue magazine and author of the soon-to-be-published “Weddings of Grace: The Bride You Want to Be, The Woman You Become.”
The weekend wraps up with a bridal luncheon catered by Stephens Catering Service and sample floral displays.
The focus of the event is to provide information about how to make a wedding unique, said Monica McMurry, assistant professor in the college’s fashion department and curator of the Stephens Costume Research Library. The weekend will look at the traditions, mythology and history of weddings and the garments involved.
McMurry said it is a way to look at how things were done years ago compared to today.
“I would hope they would take away the whole idea that in a lot of the things we take for granted in weddings, there are a lot more meanings than we realize,” she said.
Powell said her lecture, which uses examples from mythology, would focus on the traditions involved in wedding ceremonies, rather than the details such as the dress and the rings.
“Those things are important and fun, but if it becomes only about the things, we’ve lost touch with the relationship,” Powell said. “In the culture we live in, it’s hard not to get rattled with the status and look of the wedding. Those are wonderful things to have, but they are only an outward presentation of the inward journey.”
Schreier’s presentation will focus on wedding fashions and where the inspirations for those fashions have come from. She said many designing ideas have been lifted from royalty and celebrity weddings, both in the movies and in real life.
McMurry decided to organize the weekend after last year’s wedding dress exhibit at the college attracted many visitors.
“As I worked with the dresses, many donated by alumni for the exhibit, their stories were included about the dress,” she said. “People wanted to hear about that.”
The bridal weekend was planned to coincide with the annual Bridal Expo, at the Holiday Inn Expo Center, in hopes of attracting and educating the bridal companies and consultants participating in the expo about certain historical aspects of weddings. McMurry and those in charge of the bridal expo plan to work together for next year’s bridal events.
McMurry also hopes to bring in wedding dress designers for next year’s event and is considering holding informative workshops in the future on such topics as how to properly store a wedding dress.
McMurry said she is most excited to hear the stories that people are sure to bring up at the event.
“It’s a universal language that we can all talk about, even if it’s a little boy talking about his mom’s dress or about being forced to play dress-up with his sister,” she said.
“People like to dream, and there is a great dream and hope surrounding weddings,” McMurry said. “I hope they take away a lot more than they came in with.”
Powell said she hopes those in attendance learn about the origins of wedding rituals, which helps focus the bride on the journey she is about to embark on.
“The big picture of weddings is that they are a part of a legacy of a woman’s journey and part of ancient rituals that have been going on a long time,” Powell said.