On a balmy Sunday evening of August, a brilliant full moon lit up the starry night sky, while 60 young ladies took to the catwalk for a very special occasion. For the second year running, the vintage wedding dress show was taking place, and this time around, the dresses displayed had been worn at weddings in the 70’s and late 60’s.
The square was packed from top to bottom with townspeople and tourists (who are currently taking Bedonia by storm) , partly because the dresses were very lovely to see, but mainly because they were being modelled by local town ladies, some of whom were the daughters of the original owners! The emotional factor had a big impact on the crowd, especially when, in a couple of cases, the presenter announced that the very same dresses had been worn by mother – and many years later – by daughter too! One of these was a colorful garment, not the typical bridal dress at all, and had been donned by the daughter as late as 2002! Many a tear was shed by thrilled mothers – not to mention proud fathers!
As the models paraded one by one, the dresses were described, and information was given as to who had worn them, when and where. In those years, the many hamlets surrounding Bedonia were still densely populated and thriving, and many weddings took place in the tiny parish churches. Sadly, these days most of the hamlets are uninhabited, the churches hardly function any more and are often abbandoned. So hearing of weddings celebrated in places which are now considered as “ghost towns” makes us realise how much times have changed over the years!
Nevertheless, mountain hamlets or not, there was no lack of taste even back then; lace, silk, satin, furs for the winter weddings, some sumptuous and long, others of a simple style and short – the 70’s brides of our valley were elegant and fashionable.
Roaring applauses were given to the original brides who were fortunately celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary – an amazing accomplishment for any couple!
There was an impressive amount of work behind this show, since most of the dresses had to be adjusted to their models beforehand – apparently even the shape of women has changed over the years! Four hairdressers and several make-up artists collaborated behind the scenes in order to make the ladies look their very best, and the team effort of all concerned resulted in one of the most greatly appreciated events in Bedonia this summer! As the evening drew to an end with a wonderful firework display with the full moon in the background, elderly ladies in the audience were already discussing next year’s show – will their dresses be parading down the catwalk in 2018? We’ll find out next August! Keep tuned!
Photo Courtesy of Gigi Cavalli (ESVASO.IT)