Historical information

This wedding dress was worn by two Brighton brides, sisters Floss and Vera McMinn, during the Second World War.

The McMinn family moved to Brighton from Castlemaine around 1924, when the sisters were still children. Their father, Horace Henry McMinn, was a fruiterer and greengrocer who ran the Fruit Palace at 123 Church Street.

Florence May "Floss" McMinn (1912-2007) married William Thomas Vivian on 3 February 1940 at the Brighton Church of Christ. Her sister Vera was her bridesmaid.

Vera Olive McMinn (1918-2006) wore the same dress two years later when she married Geoffrey Walter Holmes on 15 August 1942 at Scotch College Chapel.

Physical description

Cream silk wedding dress with a long train. High neck and long sleeves. Yoke with horizontal pintucks and self-covered buttons. Side zip.