The Archives' Brides

With 13% of the Archives’ staff planning a wedding this year, I wondered whether we could find inspiration among the collections.

Marriage certificate of John Frederick Peto and Tena [Christine] Pearl Smith, 1889 Jun. 16. John Frederick Peto and Peto family papers, circa 1850-1983. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

Maud Ramsdell Beal on her wedding day, 1908 May 26. Unidentified photographer. Gifford Beal sketches, sketchbooks and papers, 1902-1953. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

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Nancy Douglas Brush and Robert Pearmain on their wedding day with Gerome and George de Forest Brush, 1909 Sept. 11. Unidentified photographer. Nancy Douglas Bowditch papers, ca. 1900s-1970s. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

It would take a bold bride to wear Christo’s 1967 “Wedding Dress.”:

Christo’s wedding dress design notes, 1967. Joan Kron papers, 1959-1971. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.

The chains of wedlock may be heavy, but the silk ropes of wedlock are even heavier.  Are there strings attached to this bride’s marriage?  Does her dress represent the behemoth wedding industry?  Or is she merely the ultimate fashion victim?

Julie Schweitzer is a processing archivist at the Archives of American Art.

Comments

[kelly quinn]

what a tease! who is getting married?

i love the christo entry.

[Julie]

We are five brides in the DC office plus a groom up in New York. You know, the more I look at the Christo dress, the more it starts to look like an escape parachute.

[Andy]

As a wedding photographer its cool to see many of these images

[Thina Doukas]

Great article with vintage photography. The men's suits are still around these days but the bridal dress is more streamlined i'd say. Thanks for the post.

[Jocelyn Durrance]

Is that the baggage she brings into the marriage?

[Liz Clayton]

Great pictures, I absolutely love looking at vintage wedding pictures.

[denim]

The wedding dresses was gorgious. Great post.

[Erik Johnson]

I really love the last photo. Is that the actual dress, or just a photo-representation of how much fabric was used in that dress? either way, i like the art of the pic more than anything! =)

[Allan]

Very interesting. As a photographer who does weddings and still lives "in the past" shooting a lot of 4x5 film (not at the weddings) the historical view of photography at weddings has always fascinated me.

[Anni]

These pics are just amazing! I love the sophisticated suits of the gentlemen and the opulent bridal gowns! Sometimes i dream of living in a past century...

[Maggie]

That is indeed a lot of baggage to bring into a marriage. This bring back fond memories of my own wedding! We must preserve these timeless photos!

[Wedding Planner]

I absolutely love the vintage photographs. Things were so much simpler back then. We should learn from them.
Thanks for the information.

[A Taylor]

I agree - vintage styles will always be appealing to most generations. More reason to preserve those items and photos from previous generations in our families.
Trends in wedding gowns, wedding invitations, personalized ribbon and other such complements for weddings usually does a circle and many items return to fashion no doubt.

[Ivar]

Nice collection of old photos.

Christo's wedding dress: Fashion slave vs. symbol. I like the symbolic value of this dress, though many people may disagree with the actual meaning. I guess it may be more relevant back in the older days and probably reflects society at the time better than today. At least in the western world marriage is mostly a voluntary act and so could in fewer cases be considered an act of tyranny.

I work myself with tailored clothes and have many marriage couples as customer - be it only for men - as I make suits and not dresses. I've yet to come across such creativity in my customers! But wouldn't it be fun to have a little bit more experimentation - all though perhaps not to go so far as to Christo's example.

Thanks for a nice post.

Ivar

[wishing well]

Fascinating pictures. Its interesting to see the old trends in bridal gowns.

[Kevin Kavanagh]

wow vintage styles wedding photos , amazing, My wife would love these as she loves to to look back on photo's of her granny. these photo's will remind her again, classic site and information , thanks for sharing , Kevin

[Yoan]

I like old photo collection above. It amazed me. That will give new idea for me.

Is that the actual dress, or just a photo-representation of how much fabric was used in that dress? I love the sophisticated suits of the gentlemen and the opulent bridal gowns!

[Garth]

The traditional wedding dress still has a lot of fabric even today. I think the men's suits in the 1909 picture are more revealing of the time period. Cool old pics though, remind me of some in the family.

[Queen]

Very neat post, however, what is with that last picture. It is so neat to see how much time and devotion went into old weddings and certificates.

I think alot of people might go this way if they could see it before they made the decision to go contemporary. It is definetly a classy look.

[Tungsten Wedding Band]

Is that the actual dress, or just a photo-representation of how much fabric was used in that dress? I love the sophisticated suits of the gentlemen and the opulent bridal gowns!

[Jen]

Hmmm, that Christo dress does look like a parachute, but nonetheless interesting to say the least. I do appreciate the middle photograph...reminds me of my grandparents wedding. Such nostalgia, makes me wish I were alive then. Good stuff.

[john]

I love the marriage certificate in the first photo! It makes one wonder why we've moved away from such classic style. Every modern certificate I've seen has been bland and boring.

[Randy]

What is interesting is how little has changed in wedding photography. We still do some of these basic shots (like the bride with the groom and the groomsmen all together.) Sure we may pose them a little differently, but the fundamentals are still present today.