Sunday, September 6, 2009

MOSAIC MONDAY - THE WEDDING

It is Mosaic Monday hosted by Mary at Little Red House.
Please check out her blog for a list of this week's participants; plus take a look at the wonderful portrait photography that she is doing these days.

Not only is it Mosaic Monday, it is also Labor Day and our 51st wedding anniversary. Last year on our 50th I posted about marriage - click here if you are interested. This year, I thought I would talk about The Wedding! Weddings were different back in the 1950s in our community than they are today. Even a large wedding was simple. Ceremonies usually took place on Sunday afternoon as most people worked on Saturday. They were held in the bride's church, which was usually decorated with lots of fresh flowers. I suppose our wedding was considered quite large with 300 guests, but there was no fancy meal; just a reception at our house with cake, nuts, mints and punch. My parents had a large house with a finished basement and a beautiful backyard, and could well accommodate that many people. It was a gorgeous, September day.

In those days, the marriage was between a husband and a wife, but THE WEDDING was between the bride and her mother. Even the announcement in the local paper of the engagement had only a picture of the bride-to-be, and the up-coming nuptials were announced by only the parents of the future bride. Funny as it may seem, the groom was almost an after thought. All he had to do was show up the day of the wedding with the ring!!!!

In our small town, brides almost always had a formal, studio picture taken the week before the wedding that was then used in the newspaper with the details after the wedding.

Mother and I did all of the planning together, and I only remember having a small disagreement about the plates to use for the cake. With so many people, she thought we should use paper plates; but even then I loved dishes. You can see in the bottom left picture that I won out. We used Mother's large collection of Fostoria glass plates. She hired someone to wash dishes as they were used! Thank you, Mother - to this day I love using her Fostoria. I remember how beautiful and young my Mother looked that day - pretty enough to be the bride herself as she had just turned 39 years old the day before the wedding.

I'm eternally grateful that Bob showed up that day with the ring. I can't imagine what the last 51 years would have been like without him. It has been a wonderful life!!

37 comments:

xinex said...

Oh Sally, you were beautiful and so was your mom. I can imagine how much fun it was planning the wedding. What a lovely wedding gown and a handsome groom! Thank you for sharing and Happy Anniversary!...Christine

Ebie said...

Congratulations to your 51 years of togetherness and marital bliss! Love the photos and you have kept them very well preserved!
Ebie's Mosaic

~JarieLyn~ said...

Happy Anniversary. You looked exquisite on your wedding day. Beautiful bride, beautiful dress, beautiful mother, and a beautiful mosaic. Oh, and a very handsome groom, I might add. What a wonderful day today is.

Mary said...

Oh my goodness, happy anniversary!!! What a beautiful bride you were! Thanks so much for sharing your special day with all of us at Mosaic Monday. :)

Carol said...

Congratulations on your anniversary! Very sweet mosaic! Enjoyed it! A really lovely post :)

Linda said...

What beautiful photos of your wedding. Congratulations on your anniversary.

Roban said...

What a very special mosaic! Your portrait is gorgeous.... and you and your groom look so happy together! Happy Anniversary!

Roban said...

What a very special mosaic! Your portrait is gorgeous.... and you and your groom look so happy together! Happy Anniversary!

Thoughtfully Blended Hearts said...

A beautiful post and I loved those wonderful photos...you and Mom were both beautiful and that hubby was sure a handsome dude...Congratulations!!!

ellen b said...

Sally! How very fabulous that you are celebrating your 51st Anniversary. Congratulations! Love these great black and white mosaics...priceless.

BailiwickStudio said...

What a wonderful post! I much prefer the simplicity of days gone by - it really makes more sense. My own wedding was 30 years ago, kind of in between then and now. Thank you for sharing such a fabulous mosaic! ::Jill

Lana G! said...

Happy Anniversary! Love this post!!

Regina said...

Happy Anniversary! A most wonderful mosaic!
Enjoy.

Wildflowerhouse said...

A very wonderful mosaic and may I wish you both many more wonderful years.

onlymehere said...

Congratulations to you. I loved hearing the difference in weddings. Things have even changed drastically since I was married 27 years ago. This was a beautiful post.

susan said...

Sally-Happy anniversary to you! What an accomplishment! Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful pictures! Don't times change things? Your mom was 39 when you married and now some women are just deciding to become moms at 39! Love the plate story :)

Pat@Back Porch Musings said...

Beautiful bride, Sally!

Happy Anniversary!!

Carol at Serendipity said...

What a lovely post and congratulations!
Carol

bj said...

I just heard thru Blogland that this is your anniversary. What a beautiful bride you were, Sally...and your man is such a handsome fella.
Yes, weddings back then were a bit different than todays...so many things in the 50's and 60's were different.
CONGRATULATIONS on the 51 years. Bill and i will celebrate our 50th this coming April.
ox bj

SmilingSally said...

Happy Anniversary! Johnny and I are also married 51 years (July 7th). Your gown (and you!) are beautiful. It was a fancy wedding by my standards.

Jenn@ You know... that blog? said...

Wow, do/did you ever look like your mom! It's uncanny! Simpler days for sure - it's so silly how much nonsense brides go through in this day and age. If I had it to do over again (although I'm thankful after almost 19 years married that I don't), I would do it much more simply, and make it a much smaller, more personal event.

51 years - how wonderful! Congratulations to you both - I wish you many decades more together.

Quiltpiecer said...

Congratulations on your 51st anniversary! You are blessed. We celebrated 25 yrs in Dec ~ God willing we will celebrate 25 more yrs together. Thanks for the great mosaic and for sharing details of your wedding day. Loved it!

9405018--Pat said...

Congratulations on your 51st anniversary! We celebrate 41 years in June...thanks for sharing....Pat H

Unknown said...

Happy Anniversary. Such beautiful photographs from your wedding make for a gorgeous mosaic.

Karen

Linda K. said...

This is very classy and well done! What a beautiful mosaic to always keep and cherish!

Claudia said...

Hi!
This is so nostalgic and beautiful. YOu were a lovely bride.

What a nice reflection.

If you have a moment-- I would love for you to stop by.

TTFN~~Claudia ♥ ♥

Elaine said...

Great wedding photos. Congratulations to you and hubby on your 51st anniversary.

I did not know they did the official photo the week before the wedding. Interesting wedding history. Lovely post.

Tootsie said...

you are so beautiful in that dress! what a fabulous post! You are lucky to have found your one true love. congrats friend

Sue said...

Hi Sally....You and Mom look like twins not mother and daughter....you were both so beautiful....and that Bob...what a handsome devil....Congratulations on 51 years...that's a Looooooong time my friend....This year is our 39th and I thought that was alot...and you are right about how weddings have changed....when we got married in 1970 I made my own gown for $40. we had our reception at a place called The Log Cabin...and I made all the table arrangements using little black salad bowls as the base that we got at the Shell gas station with a fill up....Yes, it was a high class affair....The daughter still cringes at the thought... I think that is why she decided on Tavern On The Green in Central Park....my wedding was a grand total of $1,000 her's was a whopping $40,000. for 65 people......She Paid!!!

Anonymous said...

Sally, congratulations to you both on such a momentous occasion! It is so gratifying to see a couple so committed in this day and age. Celebrate, my friend! You deserve it!

Ellen

Confessions of a Plate Addict said...

Hi Sally! Happy Anniversary! I love your wedding pics...gorgeous dress! You are so right about changes in weddings. Mine was very intimate...50 people in the chapel at our church with the obligatory cake, nuts and mints in the reception hall. My daughter got married last year in a grand outdoor affair with a country club reception. But I must say it was perfect!! Happy week!...Debbie

Sue said...

Hi Sally....your too funny...but remember I'm the original "itchy ass"....I can't sit still for an hour!! I hate going to the movies and I hated the Julie part....but the Paris scenes were great and I would have liked to have seen more cooking....I just got an e-mail from the Viking School that has a school in Jersey..they are having a Julia/Julie French cooking night and I thought the daughter might enjoy going as an extra birthday treat next month...I'll be up so we can go together....thought that might be fun....as for talking husbands mine can leave Georgia at 4:00 a.m. and talk the entire 18 hours to Jersey without skipping a beat......

Bargain Decorating with Laurie said...

Sally, I am so sorry to be late getting here. Belated happy anniversary. What beautiful pictures! You were such a beautiful couple. The picture of the two of you in the car (looking back at the camera) looks like something from a movie. Your flowers loo gorgeous. I was married in the 60's, but my wedding, announcement, newspaper writeup, etc. were very similar to yours. I got married on a Sunday afternoon. I'm wondering if those simple weddings gave us a better start as a couple, since I am amazed at the elaborate weddings today that end in divorce before they have been together a year! I really enjoyed your wedding pictures and your memories of your wedding. laurie

Anonymous said...

Hi Dear Sally! Happy Anniversary! What a treasure to have been married for 51 years! Your wedding photos are darling! Really the more simple weddings were the best I think! You and your hubby looks so precious!
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Happy To Be/ Gl♥ria said...

GM Sally. Happy Anniversary to you and Bob...what a fun trip down memory lane girl..and your so right wedding were so differ then..also at that time you only wore white because you were pure...Your Mother was beautiful my friend..as were you a beautiful bride...I remember when my Mama got remarried in 1950 and it was on a Sunday and then she had just cake and coffee at her best friends house which us kids decorated in paper roses we made ha ha!!May you have a wonderful week my dear friend...Hugs and smiles Gl♥ria

Susie Q said...

Oh dear friend. I teared up all the way through this. You were such a beautiful bride! You ARE a beautiful lady...a beautifu couple and it is a joy to share in this with you. Happy Anniversary to the two of you. May you have many more happy years together. You are proof that a commited love can last and bring happiness to the couple, their family and all those blessed to know them.
Love and hugs to you,
Sue

Chari at Happy To Design said...

Hi Sally...

Ohh my goodness...Congratulations are in order!!! Happy 51st Anniversary to you and Bob!!! My friend, I just loved seeing your wedding photo mosaics!!! Sally, you were such a beautiful bride...ohhh, I love your dress...it's gorgeous!!! And your Bob looks pretty darn handsome too!!! The two of you make a lovely couple!!! Yes, I do suppose that weddings in the 50's were much different...yours sounds fabulous!!!

Well my friend, I'm sending my very best wishes and blessings for many, many more happy years together!!! The saying, "And they lived happily everafter...." is going through my mind...I think that it so perfectly describes the two of you!!!

Warmest wishes and Congratulations!!!
Chari