Wednesday, June 23, 2010

W is for Weddings

Well we only have 3 more weeks of school for Alphabe-Thursday and then we start on some summer activities that Mrs. Matlock has planned for our class.


This week we are working on the letter "W" and what could be more appropriate in June than WEDDINGS! I have vintage photos of weddings, recent weddings, wedding dolls, and magazine articles on weddings and wedding dresses. Please click on each photo to enlarge for a better and clearer picture.

This first wedding photo was probably taken in 1919 when my mother was 5 years old. She is the little girl on the right with a big bow and a bouquet almost as big as she is!
This next photo is from the 1930's and my mother is on the right again sitting next to the flower girl who is standing. Notice that my mother is the only one with her hat tilted in a different direction!
My mother is on the right again sitting next to the flower girl. This photo was probably taken in the 1920's when carrying gigantic bouquets was in style. Can you imagine being able to afford those flowers today??????
This photo is of my husband's grandparents, Pauline and James. It was taken in 1922.
My grandparents are in the next photo which was taken in 1913. My grandmother was 15 and probably not too happy to be marrying a man she hardly knew. They were married for 43 years before my grandfather passed away.
This photo is of my parents and it was taken in 1943 right before my father left for Europe and WWII. My parents were together for 55 years before my dad passed away. My mother, who lives with us, will be 96 years old in September.
Here is my mother's wedding dress and veil (top part of the picture) from 1943. She has kept it all these years and I will, in turn, pass it to my daughter so the dress will stay in the family. I can't believe that I let my daughter play "dress-up" in this gown!! What was I thinking??????????
My 1978 wedding announcement

My 1978 wedding

My daughter and her husband on their wedding day
This bride doll is from my childhood. She wasn't originally a bride doll but my mother bought the bride dress when she had the doll restrung. The face on this doll is still as clear and as pretty as ever.
Here is a 1952 or 1953 photo of me (on the right) with my cousin holding our dolls. This is the doll from the previous photo.
Here is a vintage ad for wedding dresses. I believe it is from 1932.

I bought a series of 4 bride dolls from Ashton-Drake with an interesting story behind them. Each doll is related and they all have on a variation of the same dress.
This first photo is of Elizabeth with the dress from the 1900's.

Here is Betty (Elizabeth's daughter) in the dress with a 1930's style.
In this photo, you see Beth (Betty's daughter) in the dress with a 1960's style.
Finally there is Lisa (Beth's daughter) in the dress with a 1990's flair.
Each dress over the span of 90 years seems to have the bottom lace in common.
Here is the magazine rendition of the first 3 dolls wearing the dress. Trust me, the magazine photo is much better than my individual photos of the dolls.
Here are all 4 dolls but the picture is rather small. Hopefully you can click to enlarge.
This is linked to Alphabe-Thursday for the letter "W".

17 comments:

GardenOfDaisies said...

The vintage wedding pictures are wonderful! And all the dresses, both real and doll-size, are wonderful. I just love weddings!!

Sarah said...

What an interesting and amazing post. I'm totally fascinated by these dresses both life size and doll size.
I smiled when I read that your mother made a bride's dress for your doll. My mother did the same thing for me. I need to pull her down from the attic. :-)
Great post! ~ Sarah

Kim @ Savvy Southern Style said...

What wonderful wedding photos. I enjoyed seeing the vintage wedding photos. So neat to see how they sat in chairs for the photos. You don't see that anymore. Those flowers would have cost a fortune in this day. Thanks for sharing all these photos with us.

Linda @ A La Carte said...

Amazing to have such wonderful old wedding photos of your family. The dolls are amazing.

Christy said...

I love seeing all the different wedding dresses! I would love to know more about your grandmother who married at 15 - mine was only 16 when she married.
Your mother is beautiful. You were a beautiful bride also.

Pondside said...

What a beautiful and interesting post this was! The wedding photos are treasures. I still have my mother's wedding dress, worn by my and by my sister. I don't think my daughter will wear it but it will pass on to her one day.

paige said...

I gasped with sheer happiness when I looked at those vintage photos! BEAUTIFUL. Thank you for making my day. :)

Thank you for visiting me. I hope we can visit each other often!

Cheryl said...

You are so lucky to have so many old photos of your family. These wedding dresses are to die for.

Jenny said...

Oh...what a wonderful post!

I looked at all the photos twice. They are so charming. Those vintage images of your family are really amazing. That would make an incredible collage book for everyone in the family to enjoy! I am fascinated by the clothes and the flowers. I love that rebellious tip to the hat, too.

This whole post was a joy to visit!

Thank you for linking up. I have a big smile on my face right now because of you!

A+

Tina said...

Great pictures! I love seeing old photographs and vintage styles. Your dolls are just gorgeous!

My name is Riet said...

What a Wonderful Wedding photo series. I love all the old ones, so special you still have those.

laterg8r said...

amazing how weddings can look so different as the years go by :D

SOINSPIRED said...

You have outdone yourself with this post. I love your wedding picture. You and "Saint John" look amazing!

Diana said...

Those photos were just amazing! I am so intrigued by your collection. It is fascinating! Love Di ♥

Unknown said...

I cant believe the size of some of those boquets! and so many beautiful dresses....this was a really fun post to look at....

Mimi said...

HI!!!
I loved EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS POST!!!!it is real life and it is amazing bits of your life and history!!!!!
Loved all those wedding pics!!!!
So stunning and amazing!!!!
hugs,
jamie

Viki said...

It was really a great idea to put your grandparents, parents wedding pictures. Darn, I wish I would have thought of that LOL. Looks like your bridesmaids dresses were the same color as mine. It must have been the color for a few years ;-) I loved this post and the dolls were a great addition. Great W post.