--- title: On Thanksgiving, LIFE Recalls a Bride's Turkey-Feather Wedding Dress description: Photos from a 1948 wedding in which the bride and bridesmaids rocked turkey-feather dresses of the bride's own design canonical: https://time.com/3592152/thanksgiving-here-is-a-turkey-feather-wedding-dress/ author: Allison Berry article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-11-18T15:56:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:42:46.546Z og:title: On Thanksgiving, LIFE Recalls a Bride's Turkey-Feather Wedding Dress og:description: Photos from a 1948 wedding in which the bride and bridesmaids rocked turkey-feather dresses of the bride's own design og:url: https://time.com/3592152/thanksgiving-here-is-a-turkey-feather-wedding-dress/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52d35c91eda0c238/69876953f887dc6bece886e0/141118-turkey-feather-dress-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2056 og:image:height: 1157 og:image:alt: Turkey Feather Wedding Dress 1948 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: On Thanksgiving, LIFE Recalls a Bride's Turkey-Feather Wedding Dress twitter:description: Photos from a 1948 wedding in which the bride and bridesmaids rocked turkey-feather dresses of the bride's own design twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt52d35c91eda0c238/69876953f887dc6bece886e0/141118-turkey-feather-dress-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in Turkey Feathers > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Allison Berry](https://time.com/author/allison-berry/) ## Allison Berry Nov 18, 2014 3:56 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE: Wedding attendants, dressed in pastel-dyed turkey feathers, give last-minute attention to the pure-white plumage of the bride's gown (center). Caption from LIFE: Wedding attendants, dressed in pastel-dyed turkey feathers, give last-minute attention to the pure-white plumage of the bride's gown (center). Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image by [Allison Berry](https://time.com/author/allison-berry/) ## Allison Berry Nov 18, 2014 3:56 PM UTC If you thought most bridesmaids’ dresses were hideous, imagine having to wear one made of turkey feathers. For the 1948 wedding party of one Barbara Orr Ehrhart, Oregonian and turkey enthusiast extraordinaire, this unlikely scenario was, in fact, all-too-real. As the Feb. 9, 1948, issue of LIFE magazine made plain, in an engaging article titled “LIFE Goes to a Turkey Feather Wedding,” turkey was the theme of the evening at Ehrhart’s nuptials — not merely on the menu, but turkey on the attendants and on the happy bride herself. Ehrhart had a longstanding fascination with turkey feathers, for years using this unconventional fabric to make hats and accessories before spotlighting it in her own wedding dress. Half a century before Lady Gaga hit the red carpet in her infamous meat dress, Ehrhart displayed her feathered creations at local poultry shows. After obtaining permission to get married at the Far West Turkey Show in California, the bride gathered 37,500 plumes for her dress, which was constructed over the course of several months. Her bridesmaids’ dresses were also crafted out of feathers, which she dyed pink, blue, yellow and green. Instead of throwing rice, guests showered the newlyweds with — what else? — feathers as they exited the ceremony. And after all the talk of and emphasis on turkey had whetted their appetites, guests chowed down on a turkey dinner to cap off the night. Today we might consider Ehrhart an early pioneer of the now-trendy “nose to tail” cooking philosophy, which seeks to eliminate waste when butchering an animal. This turkey lover clearly made good use of the birds’ feathery raiment in addition to the meat. Ehrhart did not slaughter the birds specifically for her own sartorial gain — she asserted that the 300 birds she plucked feathers from were already dead or fatally wounded. LIFE reported that the morning after the wedding, even newlywed bliss couldn’t keep Ehrhart away from her beloved birds. She traveled to a movie set for her part in a short movie, in which she would be filmed standing amid what LIFE called “a sea of turkeys.” Finally, if today’s readers have any concerns that Ehrhart’s proclivity for the birds would somehow overshadow (or even undermine) her marriage, they need not fear. The original LIFE article points out that the groom, Fred Ehrhart, who was a lumber grader in Oregon, gamely helped his fiancée create her gown. Birds of a feather, it seems, do indeed flock together. _Allison Berry is a contributor at TIME.com. Follow her on Twitter_ [_@allisonrberry_](https://twitter.com/allisonrberry)_._  Caption from LIFE: Bride shows off a prize carcass. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE: Wedding attendants, dressed in pastel-dyed turkey feathers, give last-minute attention to the pure-white plumage of the bride's gown (center). Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Fond farewell is given to a flock of beloved White Holland turkeys before Barbara, dressed in bronze feather gown, leaves on her honeymoon. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Preceding the bride, the matron of honor paces up the long aisle followed by 6-year-old Sharon Snider, who strews feathers along the carpet. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Barbara and Fred are married by a justice of the peace in public ballroom. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Instead of rice, handfuls of turkey feathers are showered on the happy newlyweds as they dash out the door. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Turkey feather fashion, 1948. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Nuptial ballads are sung before the big ceremony. Composed by the bride, they are, "It Must All Be Dreams," "I Knew It Would Happen That Way." Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Caption from LIFE: Wedding banquet after the ceremony consisted of cranberry sauce, vegetable gravy, potatoes, and to no one's surprise, plenty of hot sliced turkey. Charles E. Steinheimer—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Image  Barbara Orr Ehrhart, with a friend, 1948. Charles E. 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