Aisle Style Blog

June Brides - Fact or Fiction?

2010-08-05T16:35:00.001-04:00

June – the most popular month for weddings, right? Well, perhaps not always. The early Romans considered June, sacred to the goddess Juno, a lucky month, especially on the full or new moon. But it is interesting to see that very few of The Charleston Museum’s wedding articles were from June marriages. Of the 58 garments, accessories and wedding gifts in Aisle Style dating between 1768 and 1967, that have specific months associated with them, only two were used in June. The most popular month for our brides was December with ten weddings, followed by January (9), April (9) and November (7). The least popular was July, with no weddings represented.

One of our June brides was Louisa Rebecca McCord, who married Augustine Thomas Smyth on June 27, 1865, carrying a lovely ivory and silk fan (pictured left) that is on exhibit in Aisle Style. It is a pierced ivory brisé fan with cream watered silk petals or “feathers,” a popular style in the mid-19th century. It is sometimes referred to as a Jenny Lind fan, said to have been favored by the renowned opera star of that period. The Swedish singer toured Europe extensively and became an American favorite after her concert tour from 1850-1852, organized and promoted by P. T. Barnum. Jenny Lind performed 93 large-scale concerts, quickly becoming a well-loved idol. Louisa and Augustine were married shortly after the war ended, finding it difficult to acquire fabric and accessories for the wedding. Perhaps this beautiful fan was a treasured possession before the war and carried proudly by Louisa for the ceremony. More of this couples’ wedding attire will be featured in the Museum’s next textile exhibition, Threads of War: Clothing and Textiles of the Civil War.

Our other June bride was Oriole Walsh who married Julian Francis Nohrden on June 29, 1911, here in Charleston. His gift to her was a beautiful Art Nouveau necklace with amethysts and a freshwater pearl which she wore for the wedding. It is on display in Aisle Style courtesy of a loan from her granddaughter, Oriole O’Neill, of Newark, Delaware. The ceremony took place at the bride’s home, officiated by Rev. George Kraft of St. Mary’s Church. Mr. Norhden, a Citadel graduate, was the principal at the Julian Mitchell School in Charleston.

In this old English rhyme, January, April, September, November and December seem to be the best wedding choices, as suggested also by the Museum’s collection pieces.

Married when January is new, he’ll be loving you, kind and true.

When February birds do mate, you wed nor dread your fate.

If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you’ll know.

Marry in April when you can, joy for maiden and the man.

Marry in the month of May, and you’ll surely rue the day.

Marry when June roses grown, over land and sea you’ll go.

Those who in July do wed, must labour for their daily bread.

Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see.

Marry in September’s shine, your living will be rich and fine.

If in October you do marry, love will come, but riches will tarry.

If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.

When December’s snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.

Perhaps yesterday’s bride paid attention to these adages, for she seems to have followed this rhyme in selecting the day of the week to be wed:

Marry on Monday for wealth

On Tuesday for health.

Marry on Wednesday the best day of all.

Marry on Thursday for losses

And Friday for crosses

Marry on Saturday for no luck at all.

The old English rhyme, still often quoted, picked Wednesday as the best day of all to be married. It also relates that one marries on Saturday for no luck at all. Of all the exact dates known for the Museum’s wedding garments, none were married on Saturday until 1928, the most popular choice today. In early New England, no one married on Friday – hangman’s day. Sunday was originally considered a good day for weddings but in the 19th century it became known as a day of rest and lost favor as a day to married. Of the Museum’s 52 known wedding days, only three were Saturdays (1928, 1931, 1949). The most popular days were Wednesday (16) and Thursday (13).

pictured above right: Dark green silk taffeta dress, 1884 worn by a December bride. Trimmed with brown velvet and chenille tassels, this two-piece dress has a separate matching bustle drape. It was worn by Effie McDougal at her marriage to William Walker Evans on December 26, 1884 in Marion, SC. The couple wed on William’s birthday. Effie attended the Charlotte Female Academy and Queens College, becoming a teacher in Marion County.

-Jan Hiester, Curator of Textiles

"Aisle Style" Curator Tour: Orange Blossoms

2010-02-10T12:26:00.000-05:00

Queen Victoria is often credited with popularizing the tradition of orange blossoms with English, European, and American brides. In her video debut, Aisle Style curator Jan Hiester discusses this tradition and shares wax, paper, cellulite and kidskin examples from the Museum’s collection.

Upcoming Wedding Programs

2009-12-22T11:52:00.006-05:00

We have a slew of wedding-related programs coming up in conjunction with Aisle Style. We hope you can join us for one or more over the coming months! (advance registration required for all programs)

Beginner Cake Decorating Workshop
January 14
10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
In conjunction with Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, the Charleston Museum is teaming up with Sweet Smith Bakery to offer a beginning cake workshop! Learn the basics of cake decorating, including tip techniques, fondant and butter cream roses and fondant ribbons and bows. Registration fee includes a decorating kit (an offset spreader, a pastry bag and coupler, four tips, and a rose nail) to keep and supplies.
$35/member, $40/non-member

Wedding Preservation Workshop
February 20
10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
Preserving your wedding memories does not have to be difficult or even expensive! In conjunction with Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, the Charleston Museum will offer a wedding preservation workshop. Museum curators will provide useful information and resources for preserving special items from your wedding day. Archivist Jennifer Scheetz will provide advice on how to store various paper keepsakes, ranging from the invitation to photographs to cocktail napkins. Jennifer will also look at how to create a wedding scrapbook that will best protect your photos. Curator of textiles Jan Hiester will discuss the cleaning, handling and storage of your wedding gown and accessories.
$10/member, $20/non-member

Wedding Etiquette Seminar
February 25
6:30-7:30 p.m.
Brides – grab your mom, mother-in-law and bridesmaids for an evening of helpful wedding advice! In conjunction with its special exhibit, Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, the Charleston Museum is teaming up with Southern Protocol to offer a wedding etiquette seminar. What is the proper wording and timeline for invitations? How do you include everyone you love in the process? What about non-traditional families? And, perhaps most importantly, exactly who is financially responsible for what? Learn the answers to these and other delicate wedding situations. The modern wedding and manners experts at Southern Protocol will also discuss the most important and traditional guidelines to planning your wedding with grace and charm, as well as providing an example of a simplified timeline and budget to keep you on track. Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion will be open exclusively for seminar guests from 5:30-6:30; come early, chat with the exhibit curator and view all of the amazing dresses and more!
$10/member, $15/non-member

Introduction to Calligraphy Workshop
March 13
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
In conjunction with Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, The Charleston Museum offers Introduction to Calligraphy workshop. Learn the practical art of calligraphy ("beautiful writing") to address wedding invitations, holiday cards and personal correspondence. Professional calligrapher, Natasha Lawrence, will provide instruction on writing with calligraphy pens in the classic Italian Italics lettering style. All materials are included: calligraphy pen to keep, practice paper, workbook and more.
$30/member, $35/non-member

Wedding Calligraphy Workshop
March 13
1:00 – 3:30 p.m.
In conjunction with Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, The Charleston Museum offers a specialized workshop called Wedding Calligraphy. Delve deeper into lettering and etiquette for wedding invitations, guest lists and related materials. Introduction to Calligraphy or prior experience preferred.
$30/member, $35/non-member

Intermediate Calligraphy Workshop
March 20
9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.
In conjunction with Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion, The Charleston Museum offers a calligraphy workshop for those students ready to take their writing to the next level. The workshop covers challenging and creative lettering styles that can be used for formal as well as everyday applications. Introduction to Calligraphy or prior experience requested. All materials are included: calligraphy pen to keep, practice paper, workbook and more.
$30/member, $35/non-member

We will also host a flower arranging workshop in May. More information will be available soon!

RC

Student Art Sketch

2009-11-16T11:01:00.036-05:00

Continuing our collaboration with students from the Fashion History classes at The Art Institute of Charleston, we have a beautiful new sketch to share.

SM

Silk and damask dress, c. 1884. The luxurious morning glory damask silk is draped and gathered into a bow on one side, typical of late Victorian asymmetrical drapery. The donor’s mother-in-law wore this Paris-made dress for her wedding. She may have been Charlotte Simons who was married to Henry R. Laurens on October 22, 1884, by Rev. William H. Campbell. Gift of Mrs. Henry Laurens in 1942

Artwork by Stacy Evans

Proposal (photos and video)

2009-10-30T09:32:00.002-04:00

Way back in July, Trevor Beemon contacted us to help him with a very special project. Trevor, a museum colleague from the Atlanta History Center, wanted to propose to his girlfriend, Natasha Lewis, during the Aisle Style opening reception.

Trevor had a gorgeous 1925 engagement ring. We put it into the exhibition with some other 1920s wedding items with the following label:

Engagement Ring, 1925. This ring was presented to Natasha Lewis by Trevor Beemon at the Charleston Museum on October 15th, 2009. The Beemon Collection.

After hundreds of emails back and forth with Trevor, the big night finally arrived. It seemed to take Natasha hours to look through the exhibit and get to the tablecase with her ring. With Museum guests and staff looking on, Natasha finally stumbled across the ring. The look of bewilderment on her face was great. Trevor got down on one knee and proposed. It was so sweet.

Congratulations to Natasha and Trevor! And, thank you for sharing your big moment with us! We can’t wait for you to share your wedding story!

Aisle Style Opening Reception - photos!

2009-10-29T13:55:00.001-04:00

Thank you to all who attended the opening reception for Aisle Style on October 15th!

Coleman McCoy, Francesca Disalvo-Follmer of Newton Farms Catering, and Jillian Hatch

Mildred Kitchell, Meri DuPre, Sandy Dowell, and Richard Dowell

Elisabeth Toms and Kate Thornton

Nathan and Julie Foster with their daughter Joanna. Nathan and Julie were celebrating their 4th anniversary.

Kathy Austin, museum intern, models one of the wedding dresses in the try-on section of Aisle Style

Anne Wall, Susan Wall and Rebecca McClure

Carol Poplin, Audrey Poplin, Ailsa Poplin, Krista Huff and Camille Bailey

Mara Brockbank, Lynne Riding, and Christina Bailey

Jennifer Scheetz, Jennifer McCormick, Martha Zierden, Carl Borick and Clara Varga-Gonzales (of Tiger Lily)

Jan Hiester (Aisle Style curator), Becca Hiester and Julie & Joanna Foster

Christie Whitener, Stephanie Tecklenburg, and Kay Kennerty

Christopher and Lisa Mims

Natasha Lewis and Trevor Beemon, the newly engaged couple!

Nova and Gary Duncan

Photos by Sarah Glenn Photography

RC

Thank you Aisle Style reception sponsors!

2009-10-27T15:50:00.001-04:00

Aisle Style kicked off with a preview event on Thursday, October 15. Thanks to all of our amazing sponsors, the event was just lovely. From the food to the décor to the flowers and the wedding cake, our sponsors created a wonderful evening. We even had a real proposal happen in the middle of the reception, more about that soon!

Charleston Weddings magazine, an Aisle Style exhibit and event sponsor, introduced us to many new friends in the wedding world. We couldn't have done this without Melissa Bigner and Misty Lister.

Sarah Bradley with SOCIAL Event Design and Planning coordinated the look and feel of the event and I think she just did a beautiful job. Her creative ideas really made the evening special. PDA's lighting gave the Museum as special glow throughout the evening.

New on the catering scene was our catering sponsor, Newton Farms Catering. Delicious. Fabulous food, fabulous presentation. Francesca DiSalvo-Follmer and the rest of the staff were so pleasant to work with.

Ashley Bakery outdid themselves with the wedding cake and other goodies. Hayden Campbell and her team created the most divine cake ever.

Tiger Lily's stunning floral arrangements were everywhere! Clara Varga-Gonzales' work was amazing - she even used my personal favorite - hydrangeas.

The final thanks go to Sarah Glenn Photography and Crowson Stone Printing. Thank you for all your support!

I will post more event photos soon! (more photos posted)

RC

Win 2 Free Tickets to the Aisle Style Opening

2009-10-07T14:32:00.000-04:00

And the Winner is......

Erin Perkins @erperkin

This Contest is now over. Thank you to everyone who participated.

For a chance to win 2 Free Tickets to the Aisle Style opening reception simply retweet this phrase on Twitter

@chasmuseum Retweet for chance to Win: 2 tickets to the opening of Charleston Museum’s #AisleStyle exhibit http://bit.ly/10hxdD

or click here to auto retweet

This contest will run from Oct 7th to Oct 12th (5pm). Everyone who has retweeted will be put into a random drawing from which one winner will be chosen. Goodluck!!!

Aisle Style Opening Reception

2009-09-24T14:25:00.000-04:00

Thursday, October 15

6:00-8:00 p.m.

Preview the exhibit, sip a cool cocktail and nibble on light hors d'oeuvres & decadent wedding cake!

$15/Museum member, $20/non-member. Register online at http://charlestonmuseum.org/proddetail.asp?prod=AisleStyleOpen or call 722-2996 x264 by October 13.

Thank you to our Aisle Style reception sponsors!

Charleston Weddings magazine

Ashley Bakery

Newton Farms Catering

SOCIAL Event Design and Planning, LLC

Crowson Stone Printing

Tiger Lily Florist

PDA - Production Design Associates

Sarah Glenn Photography

Wedding Fashion as Art part 2:

2009-09-02T17:10:00.001-04:00

Student Sketches from the Charleston Museum's Wedding Dress Collection

Earlier this year, students from the Fashion History classes at The Art Institute of Charleston sketched wedding gowns, dating from 1810 to 1952. These gowns will be on display in our upcoming Aisle Style exhibit. Special thanks to Lynn Riding from The Art Institute of Charleston and to the students for letting us display some of their work on our blog.

SM
*new sketches added

See larger photos in our Flickr Slide Show

Related Posts: Wedding as Fashion Art

New acquisition

2009-08-13T13:48:00.000-04:00

A wonderful wedding dress has just been received by the Museum. Jane Greely, Georgiana Grimball and Haskell Carr donated a blue silk wedding dress worn by their grandmother, Maria Bachman Haskell when she married Grange Simons Coffin on April 27, 1881. While the dress is in fairly good condition and the blue is still quite vibrant, I’m a little uncertain regarding the placement of the apron and the front bodice plastron. The plaid silk apron indeed goes with this dress, since there is the same fabric as facing under the ruffles. But the blousy front looks more like an 1890s dress.

The bustle in 1881 was higher and harder than earlier, often a small cushion pad tied at the waist to stick out like a little shelf. The skirt would be flat in front, as is this one, with the hemline even all around, clear of the floor. The relatively new aniline dyes on the market caused a flurry of colorful gowns, including for weddings. In the exhibit, we’ll see blue, purple and green, a sharp contrast to the expected white and ivory.

I will continue to research this curious garment and hope to update you soon.

Companion exhibit just announced!

2009-08-12T16:22:00.000-04:00

The curators in our history department just announced a new companion exhibit for Aisle Style. Opening November 6, Preciousness Preserved: Jewelry from the Charleston Museum's Collections from Antiquity to Today will feature many gorgeous pieces from the Museum's permanent collection.

Stay tuned for more details!

Calligraphy Workshops

2009-08-12T16:14:00.000-04:00

We will offer a whole host of programs related to weddings in conjunction with Aisle Style. The first to be announced are the Calligraphy Workshops. Check them out at https://charlestonmuseum.org/event.asp?ID=269.

RC

Wedding quilt project

2009-07-23T14:58:00.000-04:00

The Charleston Museum recently acquired a pieced Chimney Sweep album quilt, dated 1853. This Chimney Sweep quilt has signatures and dates of ladies from Sumterville (now Sumter), South Carolina, 1851-1853. It was likely made for a young bride leaving town and moving to Charleston, where the quilt was later found.

I invite you to participate in this piece of Lowcountry wedding history. If you are a quilter, please consider participating in our Charleston Museum Quilting Bee.

Check out these blocks that have already come in. We're getting blocks donated from all over the country. This is a fun and quick little block to do, so please join in! Thank you all!

RC

Wedding Fashion as Art

2009-06-04T11:14:00.000-04:00

Students from the Fashion History I & II classes at the Charleston Art Institute have utilized the museum’s costume collection in their studies. Not only have they joined me for a glimpse into a fashion history timeline in collections storage, they have worked with our period clothing to create fashion sketches.Shown here are Fashion History II students working with examples of the Museum’s wedding dress collection, scheduled for exhibition in October.

For their class, I chose six wedding gowns, dating from 1810 to 1952, each a different style and representative of a different fashion time period. The students spent the morning studying, planning and sketching these dresses. Back in class with their instructor Lynn Riding, they will rework them and elaborate on the details to produce finished fashion drawings.

related post: Wedding Fashion as Art (part 2)

Behind the Scenes-- Photoshoot

2009-05-28T12:04:00.000-04:00

Earlier this year Jan Hiester (curator) and Sean Money ( photographer/graphic artist) set about photographing all the dresses and other textiles to be displayed in our upcoming Aisle Style Exhibit. Here is a short behind the scenes look.

See slideshow of select Aisle Style Photos

Welcome!

2009-04-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

Welcome to the Aisle Style blog. We are so excited about this exhibit, we just had to start sharing information, photos and more immediately!

Aisle Style: 150 Years of Wedding Fashion opens to the public on October 16, 2009 and runs through September 6, 2010. While focusing on the bride and her dress, the exhibition will also include accessories, men's garments, trousseau treasures, and photographs – all from the Museum’s permanent collection. Aisle Style will explore wedding traditions, from orange blossoms and blue garters to the magnificent white gown.

Several Museum staff members will contribute to the Aisle Style blog:
Jan Hiester – Curator of Textiles
Jennifer Scheetz – Archivist
Sean Money – Graphic Designer and Exhibits Technician
Rachel Chesser – PR and Events Coordinator

Contributors can also include YOU! If you got married in the South Carolina Lowcountry, we want to hear your story! Click on “Share Your Story” and perhaps your story will appear on this site.

Please check back soon. Our blog will become more and more active as we approach the exhibit opening. Look for interesting little research discoveries and gorgeous photographs, as well as exhibit and event news. Thank you for your interest in Aisle Style!

RC