From self-built woodland wedding venue to dyed pink dress – Clipston wedding dress exhibition is a story-telling success

An exhibition of local people’s wedding dresses through the ages raised £1,400 for All Saints Church, Clipston.

Nearly 50 dresses were showcased thanks to women from Clipston and the surrounding area.

Among them was a dress from 1900, which was handmade by the bride and her sisters, three dresses from the 1930s, two Asian wedding dresses, and family gowns passed through generations.

Stories included a bride and groom who built their own wedding venue in the woods and the dress made in 1937, passed between sisters and friends during the war years, before being dyed pink and worn to dances.

A wedding-style spread of cakes and scones also kept visitors replenished as they admired the displays.

Organisers Nikki Bugla, Rachel Barron, Liz Davies and Lucy Mayer were bowled over by the response to their plea for dresses.

Nikki said: “We were really not expecting to get so many! The response was amazing. We had dresses from almost every decade. And there were so many interesting anecdotes that people wanted to share with us, which was really lovely.”

Liz told the Mail: “It was such a fantastic community atmosphere in the church all weekend.

“We had a steady stream of visitors and everyone was hugely supportive. I guess we all love a wedding don’t we?!”

The organisers have created a short video of the dresses, available on YouTube.