Historical bridal gowns now on display

A vanilla dress with an empire waist and lace detail accompanied two Orange County brides down the aisle.

Hurdle Mills resident Brenda Berry said she first wore the dress — which was handmade by her mother — in her own 1973 wedding. Her sister-in-law wore it in a wedding the following year.

“She tried my dress on, and because my mother made it, it was her ‘something borrowed,’” she said.

Now, the dress is displayed at the Orange County Historical Museum.

The exhibit offers visitors a chance to view dresses worn by Orange County brides and in some cases, created by residents themselves.

The “Orange County Brides” installment runs until early October.

Museum staff said the dresses represent wedding traditions ranging from Southern to Victorian, American Indian and African.

Darcie Martin, director of the museum, emphasized the exhibit’s historical focus.

“They’re not just pretty dresses,” she said. “Everything symbolizes something.”

Angie Chambers of Chapel Hill said she sewed one of the exhibit’s centerpieces for her daughter’s 1988 wedding. She said the gown took seven months to complete and used 180 yards of French lace.

“It looks beautiful,” Chambers said. “I haven’t seen it out since the wedding.”

The collection spans more than a century and includes a photograph of a Victorian-era dress, a 1940s gown and several pieces from the 1970s and 1980s.

Another gown from a 1999 Hillsborough wedding was inspired by the Occaneechi tribe attire.

Visitor Nicola Woodroofe called that dress her favorite.

“It’s good for kids, to see how things have changed,” she said.


Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.