Your questions answered

Note the ‘Titanic-era hats…

Q Here is a family wedding photograph that I initially thought might represent a marriage that occurred in 1887. However, now looking at the ladies’ dresses and hats, my feeling is that it is more likely to date to after 1900. Could you please provide an analysis of this photograph?

DW Brett

A We see from the setting here and substantial well-arranged group that this is a professional wedding scene captured by an experienced photographer – probably a representative from a local studio hired to visit this outdoor location. Whereas large open-air marriage scenes like this, the bride decked out in white gown and a bridal veil, were rare in the 1880s – mainly the preserve of the upper classes – with advancing technology favouring outdoor photography and the growing trend for a formal ‘white wedding’ throughout society, they were far more common 20-30 years later. So, you were quite right to question assumptions about the time frame of this family wedding photograph, which shows newly-weds from the next generation.

Although the bride, dressed in white bridal attire, is at the centre of this scene, it is the appearance of the stylish guests that provides the best idea of the date, especially the ladies’ formal costumes and, particularly, the fashionable outfits worn by the younger women seated here. The over-riding sartorial theme here is of slender layered outfits, some displaying three-quarter-length tunic-style over-dresses teamed