Tag Archives: tailored bridal suit

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

Jack & June – 1947

This is the first in a series of photos from the weddings of two sisters. They look so much alike that first I thought they might be twins, but were actually born a year apart. The younger sister, June, and her husband, Jack, were married in May of 1947 in Lansing, Michigan.  She’s wearing a tailored bridal suit so common to brides of the 1940s. Obviously this was a trend necessitated by the scarcity and expense of material for wedding gowns during (and in this case just post) WWII, but I quite like to see these smart and sophisticated looking brides.

Jack and June cut the cake.  The reverse is imprinted: Linprints - Linn Camera Shop, Lansing May 19, 1947

Jack and June cut the cake.
The reverse is imprinted: Linprints – Linn Camera Shop, Lansing
May 19, 1947

The reverse is imprinted: Linprints - Linn Camera Shop, Lansing May 19, 1947

The reverse is imprinted: Linprints – Linn Camera Shop, Lansing
May 19, 1947

Sister Inez is pictured on the right. Presumably the Maid of Honor. The reverse is imprinted: Linprints - Linn Camera Shop, Lansing May 19, 1947

June’s sister Inez, presumably the maid of honor, is pictured on the right.
The reverse is imprinted: Linprints – Linn Camera Shop, Lansing
May 19, 1947

Jack and June survey wedding presents from their guests. The reverse is imprinted: Linprints - Linn Camera Shop, Lansing May 19, 1947

Jack and June survey wedding presents from their guests.
The reverse is imprinted: Linprints – Linn Camera Shop, Lansing
May 19, 1947

 

Sister Inez’s wedding from the 1950s will be coming soon!