Wedding photos are important. People spend thousands of dollars on hiring a photographer and purchasing the photos that he or she takes of their wedding. Genealogists know that those photos are a great source of family history and family stories.
In the mail today, I got something that I had been looking forward to. It was a small package of photos that I ordered from the photographer who my sister hired to take photos at her wedding. Somehow, I managed to wait until the last minute to make this purchase. I guess time got away from me.
Looking over the photos, I realized that these images tell so many stories! For example, I have a photo of my sister and her husband dancing at the wedding reception. This photo was taken later on in the evening, after all the formal dances had finished. They are smiling at each other, with genuine smiles, and look like they are truly having fun. I doubt either of them knew that the photographer was taking the photo at that moment.
This photo tells a story. You can tell that the newlyweds know how to dance, and you might be able to figure out that they can swing dance. It tells something about their lives that goes beyond the events of the day.
Genealogists who are looking for family stories should take the time to examine the wedding albums of their relatives and ancestors. This is a good way to find out more about the people who are in the photos. The candid photos say a lot, but even the staged photos can give you some clues.
Most wedding albums include a photo of the family of the bride, especially if any of her siblings were in the wedding party. Many will also have a photo of the family of the groom. This is one way to figure out how many siblings your ancestor had. The same photos will show the parents of the bride, and the parents of the groom.
The bridesmaids dresses also tell a story. The style of the dresses will give you a good guess as to what decade that wedding took place in. If you had no idea when your ancestor got married, this is one way to get a clue about that. It might even help you narrow down your search for the marriage certificate to a ten year span of time.
Image by The Integer Club by Flickr