Wedding gowns the centrepiece of Salvos exhibition fundraiser
- Feb 27
- 6 min read
BY LERISSE SMITH
Who doesn’t love a wedding?
The hush before the bride appears. The collective intake of breath as eyes lock on the all-important wedding gown.
Relive that unforgettable moment next weekend at Victoria’s Bacchus Marsh Public Hall, where iconic, beautifully restored op-shop wedding gowns from bygone eras will step into the spotlight for a special wedding gown exhibition fundraiser to support The Salvation Army.
“This exclusive exhibition showcasing a stunning private collection of exquisite bridal gowns is an event you don’t want to miss,” said Bridie Roper, National Community Fundraising Team Leader.
“This exhibition brings together beautiful wedding gowns from across the decades, all in one place. Whether you love fashion, design, or simply a good story, it’s a really special experience to wander through.”
Titled Elegance From Every Era, the exhibition is a stunning display of more than 60 restored bridal gowns.
The special event invites visitors to step into stories of history and beautiful craftsmanship – a true celebration of timeless design and couture fashion, of style and sustainability.
The initiative is a collaboration between three Salvos teams: Bridie from Community Fundraising, Gabbie Cooper from Middle Donors, and Lavinia Fazackerley from Philanthropy. The aim is to raise $30,000 through ticket sales and donations, with the exhibition idea originating in 2024.
And at the heart of the exhibition is the gowns’ collector, Margaret Fava, who has worked closely with the Salvos team.
The dedicated enthusiast loves nothing more than sliding hangers along an array of op shop racks in search of the next treasured find. Mention wedding dresses, and her eyes light up.
Margaret has spent more than 20 years collecting gowns – not for profit or prestige, but out of pure admiration and respect. Drawn to dresses too lovely to be forgotten, her collection has grown from a single gown to nearly 300 pieces. And the cost of each gown? From just $10 to $75.
While she can’t pinpoint exactly when or why she became so captivated by the ethereal beauty of wedding dresses, she knows exactly what keeps her interest alive.
“It’s probably the beauty, the prettiness of them,” she reflects. “I’ve been sent quite a few wedding dresses by people where it was their mothers or their grandmothers or theirs, and they’re extra special.”
Margaret sources most of her gowns from op shops, many of which are gifted by members of the Facebook group page, I Love to Op Shop. Her collection now fills spare rooms and wardrobes at home, carefully arranged on high rails built by her husband, aka ‘Mr Handyman.’
And Margaret has become something of a legend in op shops across the region.
“I will walk into op shops, and they’ll scan my card and say, ‘Oh, it’s you! You’re the lady that collects the wedding dresses,” she said. “Sometimes I say no! Then I laugh and say yes! I don’t think I realise the impact that collecting them has on others … To me, it’s nothing amazing, it’s just something I do. It’s just my thing.”
And the thrill of the find never fades.
“I can just walk in and see something on the rack and I think, what is that?” she said. “It might be the lace or the sleeve or something, and I’ll walk straight to it and think, Yep, that’s beautiful. I’m going to buy it!
“I can walk into an op shop and there might be 10 dresses in there, but I won’t buy any because there’s just nothing that grabs me, or I just know straight away if I’m going to buy something. I don’t hum and ahh about it, I know immediately that, yes, I’m going to buy that dress because it’s beautiful.”
The condition of the dress? Never a problem. The older, the better.
“I don’t care if they’re dirty, I’ll get them clean,” she added. “If I can’t get them clean, I will dye them. I’ve dyed many.”
One rule has never been broken: Margaret never sells her gowns. If a dress leaves her care, it’s because she has re-donated it or gifted it to someone who needs it.
Preservation and appreciation matter.
“I don’t look at them and think, I just wish I knew who wore you,” she explains. “It’s more the style of the dress. It’s the actual dress itself.”
Social media has quietly amplified her passion.
The I love to Op Shop Facebook group has become both a cheer squad and supply line. Interest in the wedding dresses grew through the page. There is now a massive following for the dresses – from New South Wales to Queensland and Western Australia.
So, what does Margaret’s husband, Rod, think about the growing number of gowns?
“It was funny at first,” she said. “The first five or six were amusing, and then 20 was like, oh, you know, whatever – 30 and 40 was like, Margaret! It has gone beyond a joke now and he will come into an op shop with me. He will see a wedding dress first and point it out to me. He doesn’t encourage me – but he doesn’t stop me!”
Her dedication has led to invitations to stage exhibitions, including one to support bushfire victims. Local op-shop staff and volunteers will also contribute their own wedding photos leading up to the exhibition.
And fashion tells its own history.
“The older the dresses, the tinier the girls were,” Margaret said. “I’ve never found a medium-sized wedding dress. They were size 5, size 4 … tiny little ladies.”
One disappointment for Margaret, however, is the fate of her mother’s beautiful wedding dress.
“I’ve got photos of her in it,” she said. “I remember saying to Mum, ‘Where’s the wedding dress in the big brown box?’ and she replied, ‘Oh, I wasn’t going to bring that out again. So, I threw it to the tip.’ ... I remember being horrified.”
But there have been lighter moments too – especially ‘the’ V-neck red dress with a dainty bow at its waist. It was first spotted at a Vinnies fashion parade about a decade ago – and it just had to be bought. The price? Just $30.
As the finishing touches are put in place at the exhibition, Margaret hopes visitors will take away a special feeling as they walk among her treasured dresses.
“I just want them to see how beautiful they are and appreciate them,” she said.
“I don’t care if they touch them. It’s about the beautiful, feminine side of weddings. It’s not just a dress – they are beautiful. Some of them, I just look at them still. I’ve had them for years, and I can still walk into the room and think, that is just beautiful. I don’t think I could ever part with that. I think going to the exhibition will help people appreciate why I do it.”
The Wedding Gown Exhibition Fundraiser will be held at Bacchus Marsh Public Hall, 207 Main St, Bacchus Marsh, on Friday, 6 March and Saturday 7 March from 10am to 4pm. Tickets $15.
For tickets and donations, go to https://wedding-gown-exhibition.raiselysite.com/
*The Salvos Store in Bacchus Marsh is planning a window of wedding dresses during next week leading up to the Elegance From Every Era exhibition, and will have a large display board within the shop showcasing wedding photos of the staff – both permanent and volunteers.
Style and glamour will be on full display at the Salvos fundraising exhibition, including the stunning red gown – a bargain for just $30 – which has developed a kind of cult following, says Margaret. When she saw it at a fashion parade, she just had to buy it!
