Downtown Wheaton invites brides-to-be to wedding walk

Brides taking part in the Downtown Wheaton Association's Wedding Walk on Saturday might not think hope chests, elegant folding fans used for flirting and brown wedding dresses are in style, but all those things took turns being all the rage between the Victorian era and World War II.

After doing some planning for their modern weddings, the brides and anyone interested in history are welcome to stop by the DuPage County Historical Museum, 102 E. Wesley St., for the grand opening celebration of a new exhibit called Wedding Traditions Unveiled.

Attendees will have a chance to tour the exhibit — which will remain open through July — enjoy some refreshments and chat with Curator Ashley Downing from noon to 4 p.m.

The wedding walk begins at AlphaGraphics, 128 N. Main St., and runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Each bride will receive a free goody bag and map of all the participating stores, and any bride who visits 75 percent of the shops will be eligible to win one of three gift baskets.

Registration is free for the bride and her “entourage,” whether that includes her mom, her fiance or her bridesmaids. Brides can register at the door or online before the event, at downtownwheaton.com.

“The idea is that they visit with all of our businesses down here and they get to know what restaurants have good spaces for rehearsal dinners, they visit some of the merchants, like flower shops,” said Cara Bove, administrative and events assistant for the Downtown Wheaton Assocation. “We want to open their minds, to see all that downtown Wheaton has to offer.”

More than 20 businesses in downtown are participating, including shops like Moore Toys & Gadgets, which might offer unique items that could be used at a bachelorette party or as wedding favors.

“It's a day for them to target a different customer,” she said. “It's nice to have a focused group coming in, so they can set up special displays for them, offer them special deals and coupons and things like that.”

Bove said the wedding walk and opening of the wedding exhibit “happened by chance.” To encourage brides to visit the exhibit, it has been listed as a stop on their map.

“I think they'll enjoy some of the history. It's entertaining,” Downing said. “We tried to showcase how wedding traditions and courtship changed through time.”

The exhibit is split into various decades, starting in the late 1800s, where black and white photos, detailed marriage licenses and the most well-preserved dresses are on display.

Aside from admiring the artifacts, which also include jewelry, headpieces and a cake topper, visitors will learn interesting facts as they browse the cases, including the ways couples would sometimes form around the turn of the century.

“A lot of these people, they'd actually do newspaper advertisements,” Downing said. “They would write and say, 'This is such a great connection, let's get engaged.' So they would actually never meet and get engaged to a person they met over the newspaper. The newspapers actually started putting warnings out into those sections. Then you have today's online dating, where it's kind of the same thing.”

Several decades later, social status began to correlate with the number of people you dated, Downing said.

“In the 1920s, it became a game,” she said. “This was one of the few periods where you're not trying to find someone to marry, you're just finding somebody because you wanted to show off to all your friends.”

DuPage County residents are invited to take part in the exhibit by submitting their wedding photos to the museum. Submissions will be entered into a drawing to win a two-hour rental of the museum and an overnight stay at a hotel.

For information about the drawing, future events relating to the exhibit or the grand opening, visit www.dupagemuseum.org.

If you go

What: Wheaton Wedding Walk

Where: More than 20 stops in downtown Wheaton; starts at AlphaGraphics, 128 N. Main St.

When: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17

Cost: Free

Info: downtownwheaton.com or (630) 682-0633

What: Wedding Traditions Unveiled

Where: DuPage County Historical Museum

When: Exhibit preview, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16; exhibit opening, noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17

Cost: $20 per person or $30 per couple for preview, with champagne toast and appetizers; exhibit opening is free

Info: dupagemuseum.org or (630) 510-4941