AA-2026-460586
On the image
The groom's double-breasted gray suit tells you everything about the decade: it was the outfit a man bought for occasions that required him to look serious without quite knowing how. He is wearing a white carnation boutonniere and a blue tie, which in the 1950s meant he had made every correct decision. Beside him the bride holds her prayer book with both hands, wearing the small white veil and cat-eye glasses that were not considered contradictory at the time.
The maid of honor — identifiable by the purple bouquet and the slightly less formal posture of someone who knows this is not actually her day — stands to the left in the same white-dress-and-floral-headpiece combination that 1950s wedding protocol required of every attendant, on the theory that uniformity expressed joy. An American flag in the background suggests a church hall or social room outfitted for civic as well as spiritual duty.
The older man at the far right wears a plain gray suit and the expression of someone who has been given a title — best man, father of the groom — without being given instructions. Four people posed in front of tall candles and a framed painting, confident that they were doing this exactly right, and by the standards of 1955 they were.
Visually related — by likeness
American Church Wedding Party, 1950s. 1950–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-460586. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-party-1950s.
@misc{aaAA2026460586,
title = {American Church Wedding Party, 1950s},
year = {1950–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-460586},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-party-1950s}
}TY - ART TI - American Church Wedding Party, 1950s PY - 1950–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-460586 UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-party-1950s ER -
From the community
Identifications, corrections, and discussion from readers — reviewed by a librarian before appearing here.
Sign in to add an identification, correction, or comment.
No notes yet — be the first to add what you know about this image.