Eleventh International Conference on The Inclusive Museum

Abstract

The whole concept of a public traditional wedding is based on a research paper “Wedding Traditions through the First Quarter of the 19th and 20th Century in Hargla Parish” composed by Marit Külv (who was also a team member of the folk wedding organising team). The folk wedding project consisted of different tasks: research, finding a suitable couple who wanted to get married in public following nineteenth-century wedding traditions, traditional crafts workshops in preparation for the wedding, marketing the project throughout the whole year, collaboration with local institutions, volunteers, specialists, folk dancers, and singers, etc., team meetings and carrying out the main event on 20th August. Why did the museum organize the wedding? Valga Museum has been carrying out a folk costume and craftsmen day for past two years, but it didn’t seem to catch the interest of local citizens. Therefore, this year, we decided to come out with a more personal, yet interesting topic, a public wedding. What is more, the wedding was held following the local region’s nineteenth-century wedding traditions which can be very different from customs nowadays (no white dress for example). The museum’s aim was to popularise folk traditions, research paper, and be more visible, as in prove that today’s museum is more open, inclusive, and social than ever before.