AA-2026-63DA5B
On the image
A young couple poses at the altar rail in the moments after the ceremony, the groom in a dark suit with a blue tie and a white carnation boutonniere, the bride in the dress that every bridal pattern company was selling in 1955: tea-length, full-skirted, cap-sleeved, and fitted at the bodice with the kind of crisp architectural confidence that required a good slip and a lot of hope. Both wear horn-rimmed glasses, which in the 1950s was simply what people's faces looked like and not yet a statement. She holds a cascade of white flowers and smiles with the composed satisfaction of someone who has successfully executed a plan she has been refining since approximately age nine. Behind them a large painted mural fills the chancel wall — the kind of modern-traditional religious artwork that mid-century Protestant congregations commissioned to show they were serious about faith without being fussy about it. The whole scene has the look of a Saturday afternoon in a modestly prosperous American town where the reception to follow involved a sheet cake and a punch bowl, and nobody thought that was insufficient.
Visually related — by likeness
American Church Wedding Portrait, 1950s — Bride and Groom at the Altar. 1953–1959. Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library, AA-2026-63DA5B. https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-portrait-1950s-bride-and-groom-at-the-altar.
@misc{aaAA202663DA5B,
title = {American Church Wedding Portrait, 1950s — Bride and Groom at the Altar},
year = {1953–1959},
howpublished = {Archive \& Atlas, Historical Image Library},
note = {Accession AA-2026-63DA5B},
url = {https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-portrait-1950s-bride-and-groom-at-the-altar}
}TY - ART TI - American Church Wedding Portrait, 1950s — Bride and Groom at the Altar PY - 1953–1959 PB - Archive & Atlas, Historical Image Library AN - AA-2026-63DA5B UR - https://thearchive.archiveandatlas.com/library/american-church-wedding-portrait-1950s-bride-and-groom-at-the-altar ER -
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