Dresses In The Spotlight Once Again

It’s a one-of-a-kind exhibition, but every one of the exhibits has been the star of its own show in the past.
Normally, this kind of exhibit is only seen once, but Bellarine cycling group the Lonnie Legends thinks they deserve another go in the spotlight. Their exhibition of 50 cheap wedding dresses from the last 120 years, is on in Queenscliff for three days from this Friday.
Group member Judy Hassell said the small group put on a fundraiser every year to raise money for MS, a condition which her husband Phil has. This year’s idea, for a wedding dress expo, came from the roaring success of a similar display held a few months ago in Bendigo, where thousands viewed a range of wedding dresses borrowed from London’s Victorian & Albert Museum.

“A few people had been up to see it and I thought if they can get 70,000 women to it, we could do something similar.”
Mrs Hassell said the exhibition had been an absolute pleasure to organise, and stories behind the dresses had been very interesting.
“We just put feelers out and started asking people, and what we’ve come up with has been absolutely amazing.”
Among the stranger stories was the bridal dress found at the bottom of a bag of rags donated to an aged-care home. The dresses will be displayed with a photograph of the wedding day at which it starred, as well as a little story.
“We will also set them up to look as if they were in people’s houses,” Mrs Hassell said.

She said organisers would dress up in clothes they had worn to weddings in the past. Upon entry, visitors will feel as if they have entered a wedding reception, and can even stay for tea and wedding cake.
The exhibition runs from 10am to 5pm Friday, Saturday and Sunday (January 20-22) at the Uniting Church on Hesse Street.
Entry to view the dresses is $8, while $14 will give you some reception fare as well. All proceeds will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society.