When Dawn Kings unwrapped her wedding dress for the first time in 49 years, memories of her special day came flooding back.
"The wedding was in St George and after, my mum took it [the dress] home with her, got it dry cleaned and hung it in her wardrobe," she said.
"It hung there for 49 years before I saw it again and took it back from Warwick, it was still perfect."
Mrs Kings's precious gown has been given a new lease on life in St George, in south-west Queensland, through an initiative by a local store, which proudly displays local women's wedding dresses and the stories behind them.
"Looking at it on display in the shop, my girlfriends said, 'Look at your dress, it's still white as white'," Mrs Kings said.
The long-time local lost her husband Jack in 2020.
"It's nice now to look back at that day," she said.
"We were married at the Catholic church at 3 o'clock on the August 5, 1973, with the reception at the Australian Hotel, like most were held back then."
The wedding gown display was the idea of business owner Tina-Maree Zohl, who was inspired by stories of her own mother's special day.
"When I moved into my own shop, I knew I always wanted to display my mum's wedding dress because it was old fashioned, pleated, a beautiful cut," she said.
Now, her store has become a tourist attraction in its own right and has brought foot traffic into the small town's main streets.
Like an old friend
Ms Zohl said she had a page-long waiting list of women hoping to see their gowns showcased in the shopfront window, and she rotated the dresses fortnightly.
"I thought it'd be really lovely if I could showcase everybody's wedding dresses," she said.
"I always ask them if they'd like to dress the model with me because I never know how fragile a dress can be.
"Half the time, I don't even know what it looks like until it turns up at the shop."
Ms Zohl said it was an emotional experience for many women.
"When they pull them out of the bag or the box, it's like they've been reunited with an old friend," she said.
"It's really touching to see … all these memories come back for them, you can … see them reliving it."
Win Salmon remembers her big day in 1972 with great fondness.
"One thing that has really changed is prices. The wedding dinner cost us [about $43.80 per person in today's currency]," she said.
"It was rather hot, but still a lovely day. I'd made my own dress and [those of] my two bridesmaids."
Mrs Salmon said seeing her homemade wedding dress on display in front of everyone in town was a great way to celebrate 50 years of marriage with her husband Terry.
"It just gave you that lovely warm feeling that people in the community think about you and it's a good news story. So many things that you hear about are not so good," she said.
"And this is just so lovely that people are talking about good things that are going on in the community."
Linda Lindores celebrated her family's history by displaying her mother's and grandmother's dresses.
Her grandmother, who has since died, got married in 1922.
"It had a handkerchief hemline, silver beading under the bodice, roaring 20s style," Ms Lindores said.
"I think it's great that we've still got it. We had a family reunion, and it was the first time some of the cousins got to see it.
"My sister says it gives me credit for being a hoarder, which I definitely am, but there was pride in being able to put it on display."
After enduring drought, COVID and natural disasters over the past two years, Ms Zohl said she was more than happy to find a creative way to draw people into town.
"Just seeing the joy it brought to Mum and a lot of the older ladies, that people were talking about their dress and the attention was back on them, where sometimes when you're old, you get forgotten."
