Every family probably has a photo in their collection that really makes one wonder what the participants were thinking at the time - here’s mine:
I believe I laughed nervously the first time I saw this picture which my mother identified as likely being the rehearsal dinner photograph from her grandparents’ wedding, dating from around 1895. Though it’s not really clear in this copy, the men are wearing silly looking hats that appear to be trimmed with some sort of vine, except for the one in front who is holding a small dog. the groom, wearing the white flower in his lapel, is Isaac Gregg Reynolds; his bride, holding the flowers, is Elizabeth Watt McFarland. The gentlemen behind Elizabeth, with the pipe in his mouth, is believed to be her brother, George Keim Mcfarland, and the one holding the dog is her other brother, Charles Tatman McFarland. The third gentleman behind Isaac may be his brother Alfred. Of the ladies, one of the girls with the bows is probably Elizabeth’s sister Hettie, but the others haven’t really been identified yet. The girl with the bow to Isaac’s left may be his sister Mary and the tall girl on the right with the bow is almost certainly family as we have another picture of her.
I really wonder what the wedding photo must have been like if this was the rehearsal…