On Saturday, April 26, the Peabody Essex Museum unveils Wedded Bliss, The Marriage of Art and Ceremony - a wide- ranging exploration of the wedding as artistic inspiration across cultures, lifestyles and three centuries.

No exhibition has ever before taken this connective and comparative approach, with 130 paintings, sculptures, photographs, decorative objects and multimedia from the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Pacific, highlighting the complex beliefs and emotions surrounding the matrimonial experience. From the 18th century to the present, these works reveal the diversity of creative response to weddings, as well as changing attitudes and customs over time.

The following programs celebrate the opening of this exhibition. All are included with museum admission.


[INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY]
Gallery Presentation with wedding cake designer Cile Bellefleur Burbidge
11:30 am | Wedded Bliss exhibition
Meet internationally renowned wedding cake designer Cile Bellefleur Burbidge for a short presentation in the galleries. Mrs. Burbidge has been creating wedding cakes for over 40 years, and has elevated cake design to a highly specialized art form. Her cakes have been featured in window displays at Tiffany & Co. in New York and Boston. The author of two books and numerous articles on the fine art of cake decorating, she has won numerous awards and been honored by culinary associations and institutions. Her Architectural Fantasy Cake is in the Wedded Bliss exhibition.

Film | Monsoon Wedding
Noon | Morse Auditorium
2001, 114 minutes, directed by Mira Nair
Mira Nair's Golden Globe-nominated Monsoon Wedding depicts various romantic entanglements in the days leading up to a traditional Punjabi arranged wedding. Nair weaves together five intersecting love stories, crossing geographical, social and moral boundaries. Acclaimed internationally, Monsoon Wedding was a winner at the 2002 British Independent Film Awards and the 2001 Venice Film Festival.

[INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITY]
Artist Demonstration | Brian White
2 - 5 pm | Atrium
Artist and sculptor Brian White sets up a studio in the museum's Atrium to share his creative spirit and artistic process with museum visitors. Inspired by Maine's seacoast, its inhabitants and their stories, White creates works of art with found objects such as shells, glass, fabric and other materials that offer new meaning as sculpture. His works take the form of shoes, dresses and other everyday items, yet embody timeless tales and emotions infused with a love of history and the natural world. White's Vintage White Dress and Veil is featured in the Wedded Bliss exhibition.

Cake Designing Demonstration
2 - 5 pm | Atrium
A professional cake designer will decorate a wedding cake in the museum's Atrium. Try your hand at cake decorating using professional tools and expert guidance.

Gallery Presentation with wedding cake designer Cile Burbidge
2 pm | Wedded Bliss exhibition
See above listing.

Illustrated Presentation | Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals
With photographers Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone
3 pm | Morse Auditorium
Acclaimed photographers Tiziana and Gianni Baldizzone (www.baldizzone.com) have traveled the globe in their quest to photograph people, cultures and traditions in remote regions. Published in 2001, their book Wedding Ceremonies: Ethnic Symbols, Costume and Rituals is a stunning photographic survey of marriage ceremonies from around the world. They will share some of these images and discuss some of their more recent projects, followed by a question-and-answer session moderated by Peabody Essex Museum Curator of Textiles and Costumes, Paula Richter.

Supported in part by the Henry Luce Foundation, the Coby Foundation and New Trade Winds/ECHO. Media Partners are Magic 106.7, WFXT-TV Fox 25, The Boston Globe and grace ormonde Wedding Style New England. Images are available upon request by contacting Dominick Pangallo: 978-745-9500 x3228 or dominick_pangallo@pem.org.

About the Peabody Essex Museum
The Peabody Essex Museum presents art and culture from New England and around the world. The Museum campus features numerous parks, period gardens and 24 historic properties, including Yin Yu Tang, a 200-year-old house that is the only example of Chinese domestic architecture on display in the United States.

HOURS Daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADMISSION Adults $15; seniors $13; students $11. Additional admission to Yin Yu Tang: $4. Members, youth 16 and under, and residents of Salem enjoy free general admission and free admission to Yin Yu Tang.

INFO Call 866-745-1876 or visit our Web site at www.pem.org.

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