From this Day Forward – Wedding Exhibition

Exhibition opens at 12noon Saturday 16 February and runs until 23 March.

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to present our latest exhibition, ‘From This Day Forward’ a celebration of Shetland Weddings from 1769 to the present day. The exhibition and associated events and workshops will showcase the clothing and celebrate the stories, people, music, and traditions that make up our rich Wedding heritage.

Wedding dress of Williamina Gray, worn at her marriage to Thomas Moncrieff on 12 November 1913 at the Rechabite Hall in Lerwick.

The exhibition opens at 12pm on Saturday 16 February in Da Gadderie and runs until 23 March. Here we will showcase some of our remarkable collection of wedding attire, chronicling 250 years of society and fashion in Shetland. Most of the clothing has never been displayed before.

The exhibition will examine changing fashions for weddings worn by Shetland brides, grooms and attendants, including silk dresses, Paisley shawls and highly decorative waistcoats. Each outfit is accompanied by information about the people who wore them. Photographs of couples wearing the clothing are part of the exhibition.

Fashionable Lerwick wedding of unknown couple c1900.

Carol Christiansen, Curator of the exhibition explains, “In preparing the exhibition we’ve learned a great deal more about what was worn to weddings and the choices people made for their special day. Still photographs of the wedding parties are in black and white, but the exhibition reveals how colourful these celebrations were.”

Most of the clothing was made in Shetland. The exhibition includes a focus on dressmakers and the local trade in wedding attire and supplies. Accessories, headpieces, and invitations will also be on display.

Shetland Museum and Archives will also offer workshops, gallery tours and an evening event during the course of the exhibition to celebrate all aspects of weddings in Shetland. The show opens in Da Gadderie on Saturday 16 February at 12:00pm and runs to Saturday 23 March.

Associated events and workshops include:

Related Posts

Winter preparations at the Crofthouse Museum

Last month’s cold snap and the crunch of snow underfoot, followed by the battering of Storms Bert and Darragh, have likely made many ...

Read more

Public view sought on redevelopment of Shetland Museum and Archives’ galleries.

Shetland Museum and Archives has plans to update its galleries to coincide with its 20th anniversary in 2027 and is inviting the ...

Read more

Rounding up a busy week

During the winter months, our team at Shetland Museum and Archives dedicates a lot of time to community engagement connecting with ...

Read more

Fun Friday night at our Skekler Social

What a fun Friday night we had at our Skekler Social, there was making, yarning, music, stories and even a bit of dancing too!

Read more

Shetland Amenity Trust secures successful funding for maritime heritage project

Shetland Amenity Trust is delighted to announce that it has been approved funding of just under £97,000 from the Coastal Communities ...

Read more

Film: Taking a closer look at Allover

Chris Morphet shares his inspiration behind the iconic photography of 1970s Shetlanders and their knitwear.

Read more

Museum Shop Sunday

Shetland Museum and Archives invites visitors to an afternoon of festive cheer, exclusive shopping opportunities and creative crafts ...

Read more

Hay's Dock by the Dowry announces closure

It is with regret that we announce the closure of 'Hay's Dock by The Dowry', which was operated by Beervana Ltd, located at Shetland ...

Read more

Can you help us identify the last unknown person photographed in Chris Morphet’s Allover Exhibition?

We would love to be able to find the name of the lady standing in front of a peat stack and complete our search before the exhibition ...

Read more

New exhibition coming soon: ‘Allover’ – a photographic journey into 1970s Fair Isle knitwear by Chris Morphet

Shetland Museum and Archives is delighted to announce the opening of its latest exhibition next Saturday, ‘Allover’ celebrating ...

Read more

The Crafts of Foragers - new display

Shetland Museum and Archives is proud to announce a new display, The Crafts of Foragers, offering a captivating glimpse into ...

Read more

Shetland Museum unveils Twenty Shades of Blue in new art exhibition inspired by Shetland’s Seascapes

Shetland Museum is delighted to announce the opening of an inspiring new exhibition, Twenty Shades of Blue, in the Gadderie space this ...

Read more

New photographic exhibition capturing 1970s social history

A new photographic exhibition opens today at Shetland Museum and Archives which provides a glimpse into an aspect of Shetland’s ...

Read more

‘All About Everything’ featuring the creative work of Eric Gray students

The creative and colourful work of Eric Gray students is on display from today in a new exhibition ‘All About Everything’ at the ...

Read more

Marion Ninianson’s Roup

Roup is a word not commonly used in Shetland any more, although the Shetland Times in 1962 advertised a house in Scalloway “for sale ...

Read more