By Pauline Weston Thomas for Fashion-Era.com
- 1930 Wedding photo
- 1931 Cardiff White Wedding
- 1930s Wedding of James Paton and (Mary) Veronica Standen
- Old Wedding Photo 1931 St. Paul's Church, Jarrow
- The Venerable Bede
- More Wedding Pictures of Real People in the 1930s
1930 Old Wedding Photo of Large Bridal Group
This family wedding photo is of an ordinary couple Hilda and her husband who married in 1930 in Cardiff.
These 1930 wedding dress photos must not be published/used elsewhere - © Copyright www.fashion-era.com 2006-8
October 1930 is the date of Hilda's Wedding photo.
Hilda's wedding dress has a hemline covered in feathers. Her veil is edged with a scallop lace and follows the cloche veil style.
This 1930 wedding dress is much longer than the majority of bridal gowns worn through the 1920s. The shortest were in 1926 and 1927, but there was a sudden dramatic drop in hemlines in 1930.
Most of the 1930 wedding guests are dressed for autumn days and some for even colder weather. All the women wear long sleeved dresses, or coats and either could be dressed up with fur scarves/collars. Suits are not much in evidence at this wedding.
Many of the dress styles follow the dropped waist silhouette of the previous few years, but with longer skirt lengths. If you are comparing an unknown wedding photo with these images chances are your photo was late 1920s early 1930s.
These McCall's pattern right are for dress styles for 1929.
1930 Old Wedding Photo of the Bridal Couple
Old photos can be useful when tracing family members and narrowing down search dates. These vintage wedding photo pages may help you put an era to your undated images.
The Bridal Party 1930
The bride and bridesmaid wear much longer gowns that truly adopt the latest fashion styles of 1930.
These day dress models below are typical of fashionable styles at the dawn of the new decade in 1930. The line is slender, but the waistline has begun a shift upward. The evening dresses show longer calf lengths which had begun to take hold in 1929.
The bride's trousseau was still an important feature of the preparations for marriage in 1930.
My 1930 Good Housekeeping page illustrates what outfits the bride might be expected to select for her 1930 wedding trousseau.
This April 1930 fashion issue concentrated on advising the bride of all the latest fashionable styles from Paris and in particular the new silhouette and skirt length. The fashionable new length for the new thirties decade had dropped dramatically and was 4 inches below the knee.
This issue also explained specific clothing items could be bought directly from that issue of Good Housekeeping. It also itemised the 1930 trousseau at a cost of $386.15. The fashionable 1930 trousseau included a satin wedding gown, a veil, a 3 piece going away suit and a suitcase of other items which amounted to more than 5 types of dresses, a full coat, jackets, lingerie and more sundry items.
1931 Cardiff White Wedding
This wedding took place in 1931 in Cardiff, Wales. Sadly the bride died in 1934, probably during childbirth.
In this 1931 wedding photograph, the bride's bouquet was made from locally grown fresh orchids provided by the bride's father who grew them in his greenhouse. The bridesmaids' dresses have skirts cut just like that worn by the bride in the top photo and all show the same swing flare and sway.
In both images, the drop waists suggest that 1920s fashion styles are still more important to ordinary women than the styles we associate with the later 1930s and Wallis Simpson who epitomized the era. By 1930 the waist had generally risen to its normal position and the bride followed this new fashion.
The bride's headdress is an extravagant almost Tudor affair and shows its developing volume after 20 years of close mob cap veiling styles popular from c1913.
Wedding of James Paton and (Mary) Veronica Standen 1931 - Gorton
Right - This old 1930s wedding photo is from Kathleen and is of James Paton and (Mary) Veronica Standen. This photo was taken on May 23, 1931, in Gorton, Manchester, England.
Note how the bride's wedding dress has lengthened and is the truly fashionable ankle length of 1931. The shoes however are still the Mary Jane style that had been in favor for many years.
One very nice touch is the bride holding a prayer book rather than carrying a floral bouquet.
This ensemble shows a move away from 1920s styling. The longer fuller skirt with the bodice on the waist is firmly set in the newer fashion for 1930s wedding dresses.
Features that you see in later decades are not present in this 1931 wedding photography, for example, the bride is not wearing earrings, nor does she appear to be 'painted' with make-up.
Pretty accessories like Veronica's headdress are very striking, with the veil substantially shorter than many 1920s veils. You can see in the photo below the detailed work that went into sewing the pearls.
Old Wedding Photo 1931 St. Paul's Church, Jarrow
This photo shows the fashion history of a typical Church wedding of 1931.
Although this a 1930s wedding dress, the bride's dress still has a 1920s look. Apart from the use of bias-cut fabric in the skirt and sleeves which create a rolling drape, this dress is not that representative of 1930s fashions. The bride wears ankle-strapped Mary Jane-style shoes. The brimmed felt hat is very typically late 20s.
The wedding photo features Irene's parents. Irene is a site visitor. The wedding group photo was taken at a really old church called St. Paul's Church in Jarrow which was where St. Bede studied with the Monks.
The Venerable Bede
The Venerable Bede was born in 673 near Sunderland, and at age 7 commenced a Benedictine education. This education was at St. Benet Biscop at Wearmouth Abbey and later at Jarrow (Tyne).
Modest and humble, he spent the whole of his life as a monk. He never traveled away from the locale, although he was in tune with the world, and in 735 wrote an appealing letter suggesting reform ideas to halt the troubles of the Church in Northumbria.
His erudite works for which he is remembered were dependent on the superior libraries of St. Benet Biscop. Bede wrote on many subjects including the Scriptures, poetry, mathematics, and timekeeping. Bede is famous for his unbiased historical viewpoint and writings, especially 'Ecclesiastical History of the English People'. The latter historical work has been a source of guidance for the progress of Christianity in early Britain.
According to St. Cuthbert, who documented Bede's death, Bede died just after he had dictated the last sentence of his translation of St. John's Gospel. 50 years after his death in 735 he was declared a Saint and his body moved from Jarrow to rest at Durham Cathedral and which lies in the Galilee Chapel.
Celebrity Weddings in 1931
- Margaret Sullavan and Henry Fonda (Only lasted 3 months!)
- Gloria Swanson and Michael Farmer
- Clara Bow and Rex Bell
- Maria Ria Franklin and Clarke Gable
- Emilia Earhart (Aviator) and George Putnam
These wedding photos must not be published or used elsewhere - © Copyright www.fashion-era.com 2000-2010.
1930s Photos of Real People - Fashion History 1930s
These are original family photographs of ordinary people in special wedding occasion clothes taken in 1931, 1935, and 1937 plus some mixed-day dress from 1931 and 1933. Some are from Carol Morgan of Cardiff and others from Helen Hudzic of PA. All old photographs on this page were taken either in the Cardiff area of UK or in Pennsylvania USA. All thumbnail images enlarge.
These photographs should not be published/used elsewhere - © Copyright www.fashion-era.com 2022.
UK Wedding Photos 1931
In this wedding photograph of 1931, the bride's bouquet was made from locally grown fresh orchids provided by the bride's father who grew them in his greenhouse.
All the guests also wear orchids, including the young boy Henry. The bridesmaids all wear dresses which probably have bias-cut skirts judging by their flare and sway of them. All the dresses were made by the bride's family and the drop waist suggests that 1920s fashion styles are still holding strong with this group. By 1930 the waist had generally risen to its normal position and the bride followed this.
This bridal party photograph had a sad message on the back, stating the wedding picture was taken in 1931, but that the bride died in 1934 and one can surmise that this was probably during childbirth and before the time of antibiotics.
The bride's headdress is an extravagant almost Tudor affair and shows its developing volume after 20 years of close mob cap veiling styles popular from c1913.
The guests in the second old photo are interesting. Both women are fashion-conscious in a mature way and both wear furs. The foxtails are quite obvious on the right-hand side woman.
The hats though have more of a 1920s fashion feel to them, but that can be expected at the beginning of a decade. Some fashions from the previous decade always linger on for about 5 years or so. You can see some 1920s photos of weddings here.
The boy Henry wears short trousers and some of you may not be aware that until about 1970 young boys often wore short trousers until the age of about 11. They usually adopted long trousers at about age 12 as they entered adolescence. But it was not unusual to see boys of around 9 to 13 in short or long trousers. Boys younger than 9 only ever wore short trousers.
You can read a more detailed text about 1930s fashions for women in the stylish thirties.
Two 1935 Wedding Photographs from the UK
The wedding photograph on the left shows how fashions in clothes had become softer in the mid-1930s creating a major contrast to the angular boyish lines of a decade earlier. The bride's dress is unusual in that it is patterned. The hats in both pictures are fashionable for the era.
Mrs. Morgan's hat is close fitting and very chic for the era. Her three-quarter coat has a fall ruffle collar which has been cut from a circle and made with contrast fabric. the skirt has box pleats. Pleats were a highly fashionable feature of mid-thirties dresses and the links show you some line drawings of typical dress styles.
Two Wedding Photographs of 1937
Above we have photos of two contrasting 1930s weddings. On the left Arthur and Helen of the USA in quite formal occasion dress and on the right Charles and Gwen of the UK, in smart formal day suits of the era and who also married in 1937. I recall Gwen with great affection and she lived to the grand age of 90.
You can read more about 1930s fashions in the stylish thirties. You can learn how to date an old photo in this section. Hats are very helpful when dating photos as are hairstyles so try my sections.
Three Old Photos of Everyday 1930s Dress
Lucy wears fox tails with her dress to literally dress it up. The hat is very typical of 1933 and was probably bought that year. You can see more 1930s hats here.
The photo of Helen and Arthur has been taken later in the thirties c1937 when boleros were popular. Arthur's appearance is very typical of male grooming in the mid-thirties.
These photographs should not be published/used elsewhere - © Copyright www.fashion-era.com 2023.
