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Saturday 20 November 2010

A Marriage 1937


My father's brother, Franz Josef Erwin and his bride Gertrud Martina,
married 19. November 1937.
The bride looks austere in her black dress and black shoes, but I think it was the fashion at the time. She wears a beautiful, long veil and a bouquet of white carnations. Today carnations are not the flowers a bride would carry.

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15 comments:

  1. How unusual to wear a long white veil with a dark dress. Not unusal at the time to wear civilian dress instead of a wedding gown. Interesting.

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  2. Very interesting. Would love to know exactly what color that dress was. Was it indeed black because this was a second marriage for her? Or was it simply a special everyday dress bought for the wedding in perhaps deep blue or green? There's an interesting story there.

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  3. Joan,
    Tattered and lost,
    Thank you both for your comments. My mother was wearing a black dress and a veil in 1933 when she got married. No, it was Gertrud's first marriage. Yes, I am guessing but a dark dress would be more serviceable and could also be worn to funerals or for other special times.

    My grandmother was divorced in 1891 and she remarried in 1898. I think to be a divorcee in 1891 was probably quite unusual. The more unusual as she lived in a prominently catholic area.
    The catholic church did generally not allow woman to get a divorce. Perhaps her first husband was violent and nasty. In this case I am glad he was not my grandfather!

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  4. Interesting attire and those booty shoes. It's surely very formal and bring about a serious note... holy matrimony ;-)

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  5. Where were they married? I don't think I have ever seen a bride in a dark dress like this before??? Different for sure.

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  6. Stephanie, yes the brides wore a different style wedding dress.

    Pat, they were married in Switzerland.

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  7. I've never seen a black bridal gown before. Absolutely fascinating.

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  8. Hi Titania, I love this picture. My mother and father were married in 1935 in Dec. and she told me she wore a black velvet dress. There was no mention of a veil. It was very cold and very snowy at the time they married. The only folks able to be there were the attendants and my mom and dad's parents. There are no photographs of their wedding. In fact I have no photos of them together at anytime. He left us in 1945 when I was 8 years old. Thanks for stopping by.
    QMM

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  9. Isn't this interesting - it takes place at almost the same time as Martin's post about his great=grandparents' trip to London.

    I love the black dress and the veil is stunning.

    Kat

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  10. Amazing photo and what a great memento for you. We both have brides with incredibly long veils this week!

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  11. It is surprising to see a bride wearing a dark dress. I think they look slightly older, more mature, than most newlyweds --settled, sedate, maybe. Her veil is very lovely. It's a beautiful portrait.

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  12. Hi Titania,
    They do look a little austere, but I like the contrast of the black dress and the white veil. It's a wonderful and intriguing photo.

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  13. I am another who is fascinating by that dark dress - I have never seen a bridal gown like that before. It looks so incongruous : although it shouldn't as it is a perfectly nice dress.

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  14. Lovely photo and o interesting. I am guessing that in hard times it was far more practical to wear a black dress as it would be able to be worn long after the wedding day.

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  15. This is the first time I have seen a bride wore a black wedding dress. This picture is very special, like a piece of history. I like the long veil which touches the ground, almost like a bridal train. I see that the bride is also wearing black pants/stockings, perhaps because it was winter time then?

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