State it with Style

Can we talk about this dress?

Can we?

This is a statement dress.

One designed to knock the Groom off his feet.

Tulle with Lace panels and a sweetheart neckline.

Lace sleeve and a sheer chest panel.

She's just glowing! Glowing I tell you!

And those flowers! Lovely as they are, they just can't match the Brides beauty.

Love at First sight.

I found this picture in Milwaukee a couple weeks ago. Mr and I were on our 11 year Anniversary trip.
It was Love at first sight. This picture will be framed and placed on my desk as I work on this blog. That's how much I love it.
This picture is from the 50's. I'm going to say mid-50's.
The couple in this picture radiates sweetness and love. And a deep contentment.
This by far is my favorite wedding picture since starting this collection 10 years ago

This Profile

Can this picture get anymore full of class? I'm in love with is couple!

Look at her smirk. She knows something. Look at his cool gaze off to the side. Man knows where he is going.

Ferns, satin hems and a bow.

This picture has a bit of everything. From the pretty bride all the way to the dower groomsman and big bow in the brides attendant's hair.
The bride is wearing the most lovely necklace I've seen in a while for wedding jewelry. A simple chain with a circle. Maybe a ring of a loved one? A gift from the Groom?

Sometimes, props make the photo

My Mr found this for me at a flea market.

Isn't it neat?

I'm digging the background and props.

Navy Man and his Bride.

I've been gone. I am so sorry :(

But I hope the picture I'm giving you makes up for it.
My husband and son gave my a bundle of wedding pictures for my birthday two weeks ago. Among them this picture plus and new wedding certificate!

I am running out of room

The picture is in rough shape. But the happiness shines through

The dress is so simple in the details but elegant. See the bows? My favorite touch.

The pearls set it off quite nicely.

And he, so proud in this uniform. And quite handsome too!

Here comes the Bride. ( And where I've been)

I am so sorry for the long absence. Life happened.

But while I was out, I did go antiquing! Went to my usual haunt in the Dells, nothing new *sigh*

But then I hit up Roscoe Antiques in Roscoe, IL!!

I have found a new place to go. For almost everything. I came out there smiling ear to ear and the customer service cannot be beat!

http://www.roscoeantiquemall.com/

And then I was in Milwaukee to see Fitz and the Tantrums this past weekend and discovered Antiques on Second

http://www.antiquesonsecond.com/

Three stories of joy! I hit jack pot. I love this place. I was with the Mr and friend of ours. and we canvased the entire place. My Friend Jen went for records, as did her hubby, Andy. My Mr and I went for pictures and whatever caught his fancy.

I found this picture in MLK

She's pretty. Look at her face. She can't wait to get married! The excitement

Her dress is lovely and simple, the flowers sweet and subtle.

I wonder who the other two people are? Her parents? Family, friends?

I bet her soon to be husband's eyes popped out at the first look at her!

M.C's find...Revisited.

I visit the Wisconsin Dells a lot. Its a favorite vacation spot. And a really great antiquing place.
A year ago, M.C found this and this year, same time about, I found this picture

Pretty neat. 

Cousin Isabella's White Wedding.

September 26, 1953. 

Cousin Isabella got Married!

Bride Isabella and the Bridesmaids.

Sounds like a music band, doesn't it?

But I am going to gush a bit.

I love the wedding gown.

The collar, the "v".

Its one lovely dress.

And the bridesmaids...Perfect tea length dresses.

The lace shrugs with the collars (again!) and the headdresses. 

I love it. LOVE it.

An early mirror selfie.

Guess who this is.

Seriously.

The Attendants.

No guesses yet?

Fine.

Its Eleanora! And the Bridesmaids!

It's not always Happily Ever After....

Sometimes in my collecting travels, I come across the most interesting things. Babies getting their first ever pictures, family portraits. Military pictures. But those don't interest me. We all know my focus: Wedding portraits and marriage certificates. The Start of Happy Ever After.

But its not always, is it? The Start of Happy Ever After. Its not. And it took my newest find to put that thought firmly on the front of my mind. A couples HEA can end. Death? Distance? Indifference? Yeah...

Anyway...before my thoughts run away with me. Where was I? Oh yes, Its not always HEA and my find from last month proves it.

Our Bride is Eleanora and I inherited her history. Its so rare that I know about my Brides. Usually I just know a name or a little snippet (if I am lucky). With Eleanora, I got a lot more. In her box, (Goodness, that is so sad!) there are pictures of every stage of her life. Baby, girlhood, her First Communion, high school photo, Eleanora in her cap and gown. And finally, as a beautiful bride.

At first, I felt like a voyeur. An oddly specific one at that. I only wanted the wedding pictures and screw the rest. I dug more into the box with the Mr's encouragement and found the rest of my Brides story.  And it broke my heart. While I think Eleanora had a good, if ordinary, childhood, I don't think married life was good to her.

Snippets of her life were found.  Like a flipbook of her past. Receipts from deliveries, old mortgage papers, letters and pictures from friends. I went even deeper into the old Rubbermaid container and found more. And I wish I hadn't. I believe in Happy Ever After like a child. I love fairy tales and know most by heart, so to find what I found made me sad and my heart ache. Divorce papers. The end of a tale. The end of a story of two people once in love.

Eleanora must have believed in love...because there were two sets of those papers. Two different marriages. Maybe she tried a third time and it was her HEA. Or maybe she gave up. Who knows? But this is where her story ends for me. In that old, cracked Rubbermaid container, I hold her story.

I truly hope that the beautiful bride with eyes full of hope and love on her Wedding Day found her Happy Ever After with her Prince.

Eleanora.

May you find your Happy Ever After,

xoxo
Jane

And now, on with the Wedding

Here's the last two picture from the last posts Bride and Groom

Another of the Bride and Groom.

The Wedding Party.

I cut off a bridesmaid. It was a big picture.

Bride and Groom from Chicago

When the Mr. and I went to the flea market and found that treasure trove, we came across a whole set of pictures. Bride, Groom, wedding party. The whole shebang.

Made me sad, as it usually does, to see the box of memories being sold. Lucky they came to me. :)

She's a lovely Bride. 

However, I find that the head dress and the bouquet overwhelm her slender frame.

The Bride and her Groom.

What a handsome, well matched couple.

This is only two of the pictures from the set.

Treasures Found!

Oh! We came back successful! Very successful! It was a decisively hot day and towards the end of it, I was walking in a daze.  Thank the Mr for the fantastic finds.

We were walking past a table when the Mr said to hold up and lets look. Glad we did!! We found a treasure trove of wonderful photos!

Here's a preview:

A small sampling.

Some bridal party,

and some more bridal party.

A look at a few wedding guests.

And a couple wedding portraits.

Look happy, won't you?

The cameras back in the day took forever to actually take the picture, so that's why we have the unsmiling people in so many older photos. But this one? I think she (the Maid of Honor) had to be some how wrangled into the wedding or something. Jury's still out

And I am not tickled pink by that head dress. Its rather odd on her head. Its awkward. That is one wedding trend I am happy to see die off.

Watertown, Wis 1910

Watertown, Wis.

Very young, aren't they? 

There is a certain sweetness that radiates from this picture.

Dated 1910-1912 I believe.

I quite like this picture

Look at that head dress! It is just an explosion of awesome.

And the groom...ummm, looks like he got caught in a wind tunnel. Just sayin'

Reedsburg. Wisconsin.

To Mr. & Mrs. Schiffer from Mr. & Mrs. Randault

Such a lovely piece of Victorian history!

Mr. and Mrs. Schiffer must be the couple that stood up with the Couple on their special day.

The dress itself is rather plain, as if the bride would have rather focus on the flowers and other small touches, such as the veil and locket at her throat.

Its a well loved photograph, faded as if it was out on display for a long time...chipped a bit as well. But still a beautiful piece 

xoxo

Jane

A World War II Double Wedding

1944.

A Sargent and an unknown ranking officer share a wedding day with their beautiful brides.
(PS: I am not happy with my scanner right now...I think I need a bigger one  =/)

1923

May 5th, 1923 to be exact.

Such a pretty picture. The date was written on the frame.

The top and side were cut to fit a frame. Which is a shame because on the side it looked like names were written.

Photo buttons were glued on...Nice, I suppose.

But then it takes away from the picture. Too much to look at.

But the smaller button is the groom's Army photo...WW1

I took the picture out of the cardstock frame.

They had taped it. TAPE. Oh my.

And then I thought the had super glued the back to the cardstock. Turns out, no. Thank goodness.