What does this photo show

[gassylady]

Any idea what this photo shows? I’ve no idea who anyone is and because it’s mounted in card there are no written clues.

At first glance I thought it was a triple wedding before the men headed off to war. But the lady on the far right with flowers has no obvious groom!

@Fruitinator that’s really interesting I never knew that. That would mean one of the kids might be my granddad!

The women's clothes ( not bride or bridesmaids ) should give good clues as to whether it is 1940s or 1920s/1930s.

Looks like 1940s to me judging by the women's hats. Ive got lots of old wedding photos from this time and the older bridesmaids seem to wear veils as well. Its definitely just one bride and groom

I wonder if it is “photoshopped” - obviously not in the modern sense but professional photographers could use techniques where they could expose two negatives on the same print. The group in the background looks sort of blended in

A friend of mine recently posted her great grandparents wedding photo on Facebook with 3 brides very similar to the one you have found.

When I queried the 3 brides she said that apparently it's an old tradition to have bridesmaids dressed the same as the bride to confuse the devil in case he tried to disrupt the wedding. Sounds so far fetched it might be the right 🤷🏻‍♀️

Groom and best man? in what could be officers uniform, parents of the bride and groom on either side of them.

I think it's 1930s, and a wedding (as PPs agree), and the groom and best man are wearing police uniforms going by the buttons.

I have Netflix but could the 3rd groom have been taking the photo? It looks quite informal so maybe there was no official photographer.

@ScrollingLeaves

I have Netflix but could the 3rd groom have been taking the photo? It looks quite informal so maybe there was no official photographer.

There's only one bride, her bouquet is a different colour from the others - red roses maybe - and there's only his and her parents in the main row, with the best man (probably brother) and the bridesmaids at each end.

Judging by the ladies' hats and the non-uniformed men's collars I think it was taken in the late 1930's just before WWII.

Here are some examples of bridesmaids wearing veils.

Where did you find this photo, op?

I think the lady in the middle is the bride and the other two are bridesmaids - their headdresses are the same

Yes that’s what I think too

One bride and two adult bridesmaids. The guy next to the groom is his best man and/or brother. Definitely 1940s as the hats and women's dresses give it away.

I'm sure the uniforms are not police or fire brigade uniforms, for a start police uniforms didn't have buttons on the collars/pillars (nor did FB uniforms) but did have an ID number at each side of the neck and they only had breast pockets on their tunics, belts (if they were issued as part of their uniform) were leather with a 2 prong buckle.

Military uniform tunics had 4 pockets, buttons on the collars and belts were made of webbing with a hook clasp, all as per the OP photo.

I also don't think it is ww1 era because of the hats and some of the clothing. More likely to be 30s/40s
I still think its army uniform possibly Officers Dress uniform or cavalry.

The tunics look similar to my gf voluntary fire service uniform from ww2.

It is just before WW2 or just at the start I think. These clothes look late 1930s or early 1940s IMO.

Have you got a local town historical Facebook page which you could put the picture on, or even just a town page? Maybe someone will recognise someone.

I can't tell who the lady in the middle would be marrying. The man to be right in the uniform is turned more towards his mate. If it's the man to her left... well why weren't they as the couple more central to the pic?

The uniforms do seem to look like police uniforms of the era.

Agree the women's clothes look late 30s/40s. Pre clothes rationing, unless those dresses are borrowed or second hand.

If you post the original pic on a military research site, someone will recognise the uniforms, or know whether they are army or some other service.

How can the colourising know what colour the uniforms were?

The photo was from my mums house, but unfortunately loose in a box with no information. It looks as if it has been mounted in a frame and later removed

It is likely then to be of a relative or a good friend’s wedding. Have tried asking around your extended family/ old family friends?

The two assumed bridesmaids have short veils and the bride's is longer.

@ScrollingLeaves unfortunately nobody left to talk to of them correct vintage

GassyLady
I was wondering if you knew any cousin descendants your age who might have other photos that match some of the faces etc. But presumably not. How tantalising.