Tag Archives: detroit

Photos

Rod & Sophie 1940s Reception

Rod & Sophie - 1940s Detroit Wedding Reception at Home {TheySaidIDo.com}

I came across this single photo amongst a basket of  paper ephemera at a local antique store sale a couple of weeks ago. The candid pose of the couple, the cake, and the table spread of a reception at home instantly drew me to it. But of course, it had no identifying information. I looked through the rest of the papers it was with but didn’t find anything to help me out. After picking around the rest of the tent, I finally made my way up to pay for it. Initially, the clerk seemed confused as to why I would want a single torn wedding photo but offered that he knew who the couple was (I was delighted). He mentioned that they had lived in the area and the husband, Rod Rieser, had been a photographer for the Detroit Times (I was even more delighted!).

I later discovered that beyond his work at the Times (a Hearst newspaper that was sold to the rival Detroit News in 1960) he was a freelance photographer who had his work featured in Life magazine. He was also a founding member of the Detroit Press Club. In the early 1990s a retrospective of his work that featured photographs of Marilyn Monroe, Richard Nixon, and Jackie Gleason, among others was exhibited in the lobby of the Fisher Building in Detroit. I’m so pleased to be able to share a photo of a fellow photographer here on my blog dedicated to wedding photography!

 

Photos

Leonard & Marian – July 22nd 1944 (Part II)

As promised, here are several of the snapshot photos of my grandparents on their wedding day outside of St. Mark’s Evangelical Church in Detroit (now Grace Assembly of God).


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Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

My grandma and grandpa – Just Married!

My grandpa looks so happy in this photo. He loved my grandma so much. Until the end of his life he kept a Valentine’s Day card he had sent to her in February ’44 before they were married in the top drawer of his dresser. He missed her terribly.

Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

My grandparents and great-grandparents from left to right: Leonard’s parents, Louis and Julia, Marian and Leonard, Marian’s parents Dorothy and Arthur.

Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

My grandparents with my grandma’s parents, Dorothy and Arthur.

Gerrie & Freddy - Wedding Attendants July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

My grandma’s younger sister Gerrie, the maid of honor, and their cousin Freddy, a groomsman in the wedding.

 

Photos

Leonard & Marian – July 22nd 1944

Today I’m honoring a very special couple on the blog – my grandparents Leonard and Marian. Although they are no longer with us,  this would have been their 70th wedding anniversary. They were able to celebrate 60 years together before my gram passed away in 2005.

One of my favorite memories of time spent at their house, among so many that I can’t even begin to count, is of looking through their boxes and albums of family photos. I would always reach for their formal wedding portraits in the large foldable stands first. I was in awe of my gram’s beautiful dress (in fact, she borrowed it from her sister-in-law Isabelle who was a bridesmaid in her wedding) swirling veil and bouquet.

They were married while my grandpa was home from leave from Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland during World War II.

Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

Leonard & Marian - July 22, 1944 {TheySaidIDo.com}

Attendants from left to right: My grandma’s sister Geraldine (Gerrie), my grandpa’s brother George, George’s wife Isabelle and my grandma’s cousin Freddy.

Their professional photos were taken by Bonish Studios in Detroit.

Bonish Studio Detroit, MI {TheySaidIDo.com}

My mom is on assignment to find some of the snapshots from their wedding day, so look out for those coming up later this week.

 

 

Photos

Detroit Bride – 1910s or very early 1920s

This undated photo of a Detroit bride and her attendant is printed on an Artura real photo postcard (RPPC) attributed to Ziawinski Studio. Brothers Feliks and Joseph Ziawinski were portrait photographers primarily serving Detroit’s growing Polish American community in the early 1900s. Feliks Ziawinski passed away in 1923 at age 41 and the Artura imprint was discontinued by Kodak in 1924, so this photograph may date from the 1910s or very early 20s. Younger brother, Joseph, continued the family photography business and moved to another location on Michigan Avenue after his brother’s death.

The printed information on the back of the card is partially obscured by black scrapbook backing paper adhered to it. What is legible reads - Ziawinski 1652 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan

The printed information on the back of the card is partially obscured by black scrapbook backing paper adhered to it. What is legible reads – Ziawinski 1652 Michigan Ave., Detroit, Michigan