17 April 2023
Stanmore Bay local Yvonne Payne is putting together a one-of-a-kind show, Wedding Dresses Through The Decades, to raise funds for Harbour Hospice. The show will see more than 30 brides, or their granddaughters or friends, model their original wedding dresses from the 1950s through to present day. Fascinating commentary will be given about the influences from each era and personal stories will be shared, bringing to life each ‘Big Day’.
Yvonne is a volunteer life story writer for Harbour Hospice, and the stories hospice patients have shared with her over the years became her inspiration for the show. Weddings and "the dress" often featured in their tales, making Yvonne realise that each “has a history and uniqueness to each bride which deserves to be shared”.
Among the dresses is a Liz Mitchell gown, an original mAREE de MARU (from the iconic Vinka family bridalwear collection) and a Hardy Amies from London. Sir Edwin Hardy Amies was an English fashion designer and among the wearers of his gowns was Queen Elizabeth II herself.
Yvonne says cinema, women’s magazines and historic events influenced bridal fashion. “World War II and post war times, for example, brought out the best in women’s ability to adapt and ‘make do’,” she says. “Then the ‘freedom generation’ of the 60s and early 70s brought a new era in ‘the dress’.”
One of Yvonne’s favourite stories from the dresses stems from a gown from the 1950s. “Mary was asked out by a young man through a connection to her brother. When he arrived at the door he presented Mary with a box of chocolates. Mary’s mother was waiting and promptly stepped forward to accept the chocolates. She then joined Mary and the young man on their first date to the local theatre as chaperone! Much to Mary’s future husband’s surprise!”
Wedding Dresses Through The Decades is on at the Whangaparaoa College Auditorium in Stanmore Bay on May 20 at 3pm. Click here for tickets.
