War Weddings

As we have recently commemorated Armistice Day I decided to post some war wedding photographs.  War is horrific but in the midst of it people still fall in love and get married.  My own parents married four days after D Day in 1944.  They had known each other 11 months but for most of that time my dad would have been away fighting in the navy.  I'm not sure how well they would know each other but I am pleased to say that they were happily married for 39 years.  

The photo on the left is from World War I.  Often the weddings from this time were quickly arranged to coincide with the groom being on leave from his regiment for a few days or because the bride was pregnant.  Another thing to bear in mind was that a married woman would receive a widows pension if her husband was killed in action and sadly this was a very common occurrence

Wedding dresses became more simple during the First World War as there was a shortage of materials.  

Marriage rates actually dropped during the World War I and sadly at the end of it due to 700,000 servicemen being killed there was a shortage of young men for young women to marry so their were many spinsters and widows in that generation.

The middle photo shows Paul and Mary (it is written on the back of the photo) on their wedding day.  This is a wedding from World War II.  Mary was obviously a member of the armed forces.

Supply chains were greatly affected and wreaked havoc on wedding traditions.  Silks from China and Japan were unavailable to brides and rationing was in force.  Brides often opted out of wearing white and wore a smart dress or suit.  Hemlines started to rise in order to save on material.   Dresses were often homemade and parachutes were sometimes used to make a traditional bridal dress.  

Wedding receptions were greatly scaled down as food was also rationed.  Sometimes wedding cakes were false and were made out of cardboard.

I do hope all the brides and grooms in my photos went on to have happy marriages.