I am honored to be giving a special presentation at the University of Missouri in conjunction with an exhibit by the Missouri Historic Costume and Textile Collection featuring nontraditional wedding apparel. I've been researching nontraditional weddings since I enrolled in graduate school at the University of Missouri. I wrote my thesis on second and subsequent weddings in the 1970s and 80s. I interviewed women who were married for a second, third, or fourth time during these decades after a divorce, annulment or being widowed. Then I studied WWII war brides when women were often getting married in a rush before their soldier fiances were shipped off to war. And because I have this fabulous book-review website, I'll cap off the presentation with a list of 5 books to read if you want more information on nontraditional wedding apparel.

The Wedding Belle Blues exhibit will be on display at Gwynn Hall starting on June 7, 2018 through August. And isn't this such a timely exhibit given the hype surrounding the Royal Wedding?

PS - a special thank-you to Kathleen Virginia Page for my great headshot, perfect for this presentation!