Wedding Dress

This high-waisted duchesse satin wedding gown was made by Betty O'Sullivan (now Betty Adams), a dress designer, who married Norman Adams in February 1967 in her home town of Wanganui. The gown has a full train, and the bodice and sleeves are embroidered and trimmed with '200 dozen pearls and 1000 dozen crystal beads'. Following her wedding, Betty went on to win Wanganui's 'Bride of the Year' competition, which was held as a fund-raiser for the local Kindergarten Association.

Betty Adams was a skilled dress maker. She began working in the clothing industry at the age of 15 when she secured an apprenticeship with Madame Nielson, a Wellington based company which had a workroom in Wanganui. In 1965, at the age of 19, Betty left Madame Nielson to set up her own business, which included making wedding gowns to order. Subsequently she moved to Wellingtonwhere she worked for Kircaldie and Stains department store, Siltex and and in the bridal department of Thomson's Silk Shop.

Betty Adams purchased the fabric for her own wedding gown from Thomson's Silk Shop. Tired of the fashion for 'whiter than white' wedding gowns, she purposely chose a champagne duchesse satin. This was something that the local press commented on following her 'Bride of the Year' win. Out of 31 contestants, Betty was only one of two brides who had not chosen a dress 'of traditional white and cream'.

Design-wise, she based her wedding dress on one she had seen in a magazine. As she did not have the option to buying a beaded panel for the bodice, she embellished the bodice and sleeves by hand - a labour intensive job her mother thought she would never finish!

Betty completed the gown with a full-length, double tiered tulle veil arranged at the back of the head.