PAST EXHIBITION
Wedding Dresses through the Decades – 31st March – 1st April 2017
Bridge Cottage Heritage Centre in Uckfield hosted a Wedding Dress Exhibition in 2017 displaying 16 wedding dresses spanning the last 8 decades, each with their own beautiful story, sharing love, life and the individuality of each of the brides that wore them. People in their hundreds flocked to see this unique exhibition over the two day open period.
The oldest dress on display was loaned by Carol Forster from Uckfield. Carol said,
“My Father’s sister Florence McCullough married a Cornish man named Francis James Phillips at Godalming Parish Church in Surrey on the 25th March 1940. They were happily married for 43 years and lived in Coverack in Cornwall.”
Florence & Francis Phillips 25-3-40
Another dress was worn twice, firstly in 1961 by Jean Judge when she married Frank on 3rd April 1961 and then again by her soon to be daughter in law, Madeleine in 1988. The dress was bought in 1960 from Bourne and Hollingsworth in Oxford Street, London. Madeleine, who lives in Uckfield said,
“My mother in law said she saw it in the window and fell in love with it immediately. In 1988 I was shown the wedding dress by my mother in law before I went out to look for my own wedding dress and I fell in love with it straight away. Miraculously it fitted perfectly and I proudly wore it on my wedding day on 30th April 1998 when I married Richard.”
Frank & Jean Judge 3-4-61 Madeleine & Richard Judge 30-4-88
Bridge Cottage Heritage Centre Education Officer Maria Kirk said,
“We were delighted that so many people from the local community got in touch and offered to loan their dresses to us for this exhibition. It was fascinating to see how fashions have changed over the decades. We will repeat this again in the future as it proved so popular with the public. We want to collaborate with local people again for fuure exhibtions here. This heritage centre needs local support and we are always pleased when the public supports our events and buys into the future of this historic Uckfield jewel. Look out for more details of future exhibitions on our website or social media”
Bridge Cottage Heritage Centre is now a licensed wedding venue and hosted it’s first wedding on 17th June 2017. Contact the centre for more information on holding your wedding in this unique historic setting. Packages start from £800.
