Faith Lutheran Church invited guests out to a historical, marriage-themed event last weekend, hosting a wedding dress gala. The gala was part-rewind part community support event, serving as a local fundraiser.
“We do a lot of fundraisers throughout the year, and this year we are raising money for the food bank,” said Marilyn Coates, an outreach committee team leader with Faith Lutheran Church. “It’s definitely a big crowd. We're really happy with that, because we didn’t know how many people would get here. It’s a really busy weekend, and a lot of stuff is overlapping."
By the time the event was underway, there was a significant collection of food donations near the door at what Coates said was the church’s inaugural wedding dress gala event. Congregation member Marilyn Klatt warmed guests up with a comedy routine, portraying the verbose, cheeky and sometimes zany "Aunt Gertie."
“We often do bake sales and other fundraisers, but we wanted to try this one because it’s different,” said Coates. “If word gets out, maybe we can bring in more and do something bigger."
The Faith Lutheran Church has done fundraisers for causes as far away as Nicaragua, but Coates said the objective this year was to keep support local, to give Estevan families a helping hand in difficult economic times.
Guests sat down for tea, coffee and desesrts and were informed about the individual history of each wedding gown - history that had a local focus. The gowns were modeled for guests by a group of ladies from the congregation. They proudly wore the fashion pieces of several different generations, taking a long route through the room, between tables, so everyone in attendance could get a good look at, and admire the stitchery of each dress and the small details that indicated their diverse origins around Canada and the world at large.
“The oldest gown we have is one from 1913,” said Coates. “It's interesting to get together, hear some history, show off some wedding gowns and have fun with that."
Each dress on display had a family name and marriage story associated with it. The dresses were historical articles unto themselves, with details of their make relating them back to the original homes of the early Saskatchewan residents, sometimes with the tales going as far back, in congregation family histories, as the first generations of settlers to arrive from Europe. Marriage stories, harvest tales and the detailed and sometimes downright quirky anecdotes associated with each of the marriages and dresses sparked interest and discussion among guests, often to the sound of laughter.
