Wedding attendants, dressed in pastel-dyed turkey feathers, give last-minute attention to the pure-white plumage of the bride's gown (center).
In honor of Thanksgiving, LIFE takes a look back at a 1940s wedding dress made of turkey feathers. Long before the dawn of faux skin neckpieces and meat dresses, Barbara Orr Ehrhart showcased her affinity for all things turkey by holding her ceremony at a poultry show where she and her wedding attendants wore gowns made of thousands of feathers. Was Ehrhart an early innovator in the field of handcrafted—albeit avian-themed—haute couture? Or just a bride who’d gone cuckoo?
Before you decide, check out the full gallery here.