DATING FAMILY WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHS
From the earliest days of portraiture, paintings representing betrothal and marriage predominated. So when commercial photography developed in the 1840s, these important events continued as favoured pictorial themes. Most of us have old family wedding photographs in our collections, from paired or double Victorian studio portraits, to extended outdoor group scenes. Early studio marriage photos may go unnoticed, for newlyweds generally posed in their fashionable ‘Sunday best’, without flowers or other distinguishing attributes.
Wedding photographs are heirlooms to treasure, and to learn from. They provide an exact visual representation of the official marriage records on which we all depend to construct our family tree. Many portray groups of relatives all in one place, which is very helpful when making meaningful connections between various individuals. Some include the only known depiction of an otherwise camera-shy ancestor, or, conversely, portray forebears seen in other photographs, confirming suspected
