Croydon’s Hokonui Pioneer Village and Museum participated in Southland Heritage Month with an exhibition of matrimonial dresses from times gone by displayed in the village’s church.
The centre’s secretary Nancy Stronach said she came up with the idea as a way to highlight the beauty of the wee church and to remind the public it can be hired out for weddings, reunions and funerals.
"We’ve got this fabulous place in Gore that half of Gore doesn’t really know about," she said.
Inside the church, dresses from the 1950s, ’60s and ’90 were hanging between the pews and vintage wedding invitations and other ephemera were on show, alongside framed wedding photos.
Ngaire Evans was standing by her dress from her 1968 wedding in Invercargill, which was made by her aunt.
She said it was accompanied by "burnt orange" bridesmaids’ dresses in the same style, a colour which was popular at the time.
The three women followed in the footsteps of Ms Stronach and Ms Williams’ parents, who were also active volunteers.
Ms Stronach said the museum was in need of some new members, having lost another one two weeks ago.
She said involvement was "not hard" and required volunteers to give two hours of their time per month to the centre.
