A country music legend’s wedding dress headlines the 2017 display of gorgeous and historic gowns in Murfreesboro for the sixth year of a fashionable partnership between the MTSU Department of Human Sciences and Oaklands Mansion.

Gowns from decades of nuptials will be on display at “Wedding Dresses through the Decades,” an exhibit co-sponsored by the MTSU Department of Human Sciences, at Oaklands Mansion Jan. 21 through March 5. This photo is from the 2016 exhibit. (MTSU photo by J. Intintoli)

The dress that Barbara Mandrell wore for her 1967 wedding ceremony highlights the sixth annual “Wedding Dresses Through the Decades” exhibit, set Saturday, Jan. 21, through Sunday, March 5, at Oaklands Mansion, 900 N. Maney Ave. in Murfreesboro.

Mandrell’s mother made the two-time Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year’s wedding gown for her for less than $100. The exhibit also will include the white naval uniform worn by Mandrell’s husband, producer Ken Dudney.

The silver lace overlay gown Mandrell wore at the 1992 renewal of her vows on her 25th anniversary also will be on display. It has a detachable white and silver tulle skirt and a matching detachable five-foot train.

That gown was created by Bob Mackie, who has designed fashions for Carol Burnett, Cher, Bette Midler, Tina Turner and Diana Ross, among others.

Students from the Textiles, Merchandising and Design Program at MTSU are instrumental in putting the exhibit together.Oaklands Educational Director Mary Beth Nevills and her colleagues “have created a heartwarming, beautiful display that showcases the memories, details, styles and history of weddings through each dress,” said Deborah Belcher, chair of the MTSU Department of Human Sciences.

The exhibit will include dresses representing each decade from 1847 to the present and will be available for public viewing from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays Jan. 21-March 5. Exhibit admission is $10 per person.

For information on after-hours viewings, group tour rates and special evening openings, contact Nevills at 615-893-0022 or mb@oaklandsmuseum.org.

To learn more about MTSU’s Textiles, Merchandising and Design Program, contact Belcher at 615-898-2302 or deborah.belcher@mtsu.edu.

— Gina K. Logue (gina.logue@mtsu.edu)