My novella, Love in the Details, released as a stand alone e-book last fall. It’s now enjoying a second lease on life as part of a print collection entitled To Have and To Hold! The collection includes three Autumn-set contemporary romances. Each of the novellas features a heroine who’s involved in the wedding industry. The heroine of Betsy St. Amant’s story is a cake baker. In Katie Ganshert’s story she’s a photographer. Holly Morgan, the heroine of Love in the Details, is a volunteer wedding coordinator.
I had a wonderful time writing a novella that centered around a wedding. There’s just something about weddings, isn’t there? They’re romantic, momentous, beautiful, and they’re motivated by one of my favorite things — love.
I decided to celebrate To Have and To Hold two ways today. 1) By sharing a few wedding photos from my family album. 2) By offering a giveaway that includes To Have and To Hold, Autumn coffee, a mug, and some Hershey’s ‘hugs’. You can enter the giveaway at the bottom of this post!
My dad’s parents, Bill and Elois, were married in 1940. Her mother made her wedding dress! A few things jump out at me when I look at this photo. The smallness of the wedding party. The wooden arch with greenery. The fact that the bridesmaids and flower girls aren’t wearing matching dresses.
My mom’s parents, Willard and Norma, were married in 1941. Look! An even smaller wedding party. And another arch covered in greenery. I particularly love my grandma’s veil. The pointed section reminds me of Sleeping Beauty’s tiara.
We’ve skipped forward a generation. These are my parents, Gary and Suzy, on their wedding day in 1967. *For those of you who receive my quarterly e-newsletters, my mom Suzy is the one who contributes the book recommendations. She’s always been an avid reader! They were married in the very same church I was married in, which brings me to….
My wedding day! I was married in southern California (where I grew up) in the 90’s, just a few months after graduating from Baylor University. We had an 8 o’clock wedding followed by a dessert reception in the church’s courtyard. The photographer snapped this photo as my bridesmaids and I walked to the sanctuary for the ceremony. We glanced over at the courtyard, which was all set up and ready for the reception.
Remember Bill and Elois and Willard and Norma? Here they are (on the left) at their granddaughter’s wedding, 50+ years after their weddings. His Highness’s wonderful grandmothers are on the right.
Here’s my sister Carrie on her wedding day. *If you receive my e-newsletters, Carrie’s the one who contributes the recipes.
2000-2010 was the decade of the strapless wedding dress and the strapless bridesmaids dress! Notice the size of the wedding party compared to the 1940’s.
This is my sister Kristen on her wedding day. The littlest flower girl is my oldest. She’s now a teenager. (!) *If you receive my e-newsletters, Kristen is the one who provides the fashion tips.
Kristen’s wedding took place outdoors in Deer Valley, Utah. Stunning setting!
That’s a wrap! Kristen’s wedding was the most recent wedding of an immediate family member of mine.
Let’s move on to the reception — ahem, I mean the giveaway portion of the celebration. Here’s a picture of my Autumn Giveaway prize pack:
This giveaway is open to USA residents. Please enter via the Rafflecopter box below by clicking either ‘Log in [with Facebook]’ or ‘Use Your Email’. Best of luck!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Where do you keep/display old family wedding photos? Do your family’s weddings have anything in common with my family’s weddings?
Becky Wade
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I love weddings too, and enjoyed your pictures, Becky. Hubby and I just celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary (I was a child bride-HA!).
Congrats, Lynn! I was a child bride, too. 😉
Loved your family pictures.
My mom and I wore the same dress. I’m so glad that she decided to save it when she married my daddy in 1956.
I married in 1989 and my bridesmaids carried FANS with flowers on them. My kids thought that was really funny! I guess it is – now! 😊
I love it when brides wear their mother’s dress! I bet your mom’s 1956 dress was beautiful. That decade was full of classic dresses that can withstand the test of time. I’m smiling over your mention of fans! That’s the first I’ve ever heard of bridesmaids carrying wedding fans.
How fun to see those pictures and look at how things have changed over the years. Weddings are certainly more of a production now than they used to be, but the joy and love surrounding the occasion is what matters. The collection sounds super fun, Becky. And how fun to join up with Betsy and Katie. 🙂
It’s been great fun to collaborate on a project with Katie and Betsy, who were already friends of mine. Love in the Details is my first ever novella, and the whole experience has been really positive.
Thank you for sharing apart of your families history through the wedding pictures. It was really neat to see the differences in weddings throughout the years. Love your books!!
Thanks, Amanda! I agree with you… it’s interesting to see how weddings have changed across the last 75 years. Those 1940’s weddings appear to be simpler, more relaxed, less expensive (but no less joyous) affairs. It’s a good reminder to stay focused on what’s important! Sometimes less is more. 🙂
Totally agree with you! 🙂
Hi Becky! Thanks for sharing your family’s memories with us. 🙂 Some of those photos remind me of my own family’s and friends’ special days!
Thanks for the generous giveaway, too. 🙂 I love collecting mugs, so here’s hoping!
Fall is my favorite season and I wait for fall coffee drinks (especially the outstanding salted caramel mocha) all year! We coffee and tea folks need a good Autumn mug, for sure. 🙂
Love the photos and the comparison of weddings across generations! Great post.
Thanks, Sarah!
Gorgeous photos! ❤️ I love seeing how different generations look in weddings. Thanks for sharing your life with us. 🙂
You’re welcome! I love seeing the different generations of weddings, too.
Hi Becky,
My husband and I used to be wedding photographers. We’ve seen many different types of weddings and many different interesting events that happened around weddings.
For us personally, we’ve made beautiful albums and for our children we’ve made photo books from places like Shutter Fly because everything is digital now. Our business name was Special Moments Photography, because that’s what each one was and we wanted to provide that feeling for our clients.
I love looking at old photos and seeing the joy in their faces.
The joy in their faces really shines, doesn’t it? What a neat perspective you have on weddings, Marylin, having been a wedding photographer.
Our wedding had in common the larger wedding party – it wasn’t my preference, but my mom couldn’t stand the thought of leaving someone out. It was just so many people, haha!
I wore my Mom’s veil, so I thought that was really special.
I think it’s wonderful that your ‘something old’ was your mom’s veil. 🙂 Your mom, who didn’t want to leave anyone out, sounds like a sweet heart.
What a treasure of love and memories!
Amen, Aunt Carole!
What a great trip down memory lane! I wish we had photos of all of our family weddings.
My parents were married in 1940 as well. We were married in 1968. The dresses look similar and the photos show an Interesting progression of wedding styles.
Thanks for a fun read.
“My parents were married in 1940 as well. We were married in 1968.” Wow! Your family weddings definitely have dates in common with my family’s weddings. 🙂
Fun pictures! My grandparents on one side had a private ceremony – no wedding, so my grandma wore a navy blue dress. My other grandparents also had a very small wedding party. I think just 1 attendant each. My mom’s attendants wore matching dresses in different colors and had hats! I had two bridesmaids and a junior bridesmaid because I only used my sister and sister-in-law for bridesmaids. The junior bridesmaid’s family is almost family…..If I had used friends as attendants I would have had 10 bridesmaids. Too complicated!! However….I did have 7 flower girls. =)
There’s something to be said for having family members as bridesmaids. Two of my four bridesmaids were my sisters. 🙂 I think it’s awesome that you had 7 flower girls! One can never have too many flower girls….
Always love seeing pictures of weddings and it’s so neat that you have some from your grandparents and parents. Unfortunately, I don’t have any such wonderful family photos from my family. I always enjoy it when author’s pull back the veil, and show snippets of your private lives. Thanks for sharing and I’m looking forward to reading this novella.
Thanks, Amy! I really do feel lucky to have access to generations of wedding photos. They’re so personal. They capture a moment of love and commitment that made possible the generations that followed.
I’m an only child so I really don’t have family wedding pictures. One interesting fact I found when working on my family tree was in a courthouse record…1852–They were married on a Sabbath. I never found a picture of that wedding.
Since I was divorced after a 20+ year marriage, I cut the x out of my wedding pics and gave the cut outs to him. I kept the wedding pics of me when I was 110 pounds and had dark hair. I have no wedding pics displayed.
“One interesting fact I found when working on my family tree was in a courthouse record…1852–They were married on a Sabbath” I think it’s great that you were able to find documents dating back to 1852. Genealogy is fascinating! In fact, I find it so interesting that I made the heroine of my next book a genealogist.
I will have to read that book!
My mom & dad, (married in 1951) & aunts & uncles (also married in the 1950s) from both sides of the family, had wedding pictures w/ the women wearing similar hair styles to your relatives’ (the rolled up hair)
THANKS for sharing! I LOVED the pictures!
You’re welcome! My pleasure. It’s fun to find similarities in wedding photos from past decades.
My parents married just a year after yours , and theIr wedding photos have a similar look to them. They had a very small wedding in my grandparents home , and my grandmother made my mom’s wedding dress.
I don’t remember seeing wedding photos of my grandparents, but I do have a copy of a very old picture which I believe is my great grandparents wedding photo . They both looked very stern, and not dressed in what we consider traditional wedding attire today .
“They both looked very stern, and not dressed in what we consider traditional wedding attire today” Ha! The ‘stern face’ was definitely in vogue there for a time, wasn’t it?
Thanks for sharing all of these lovely pictures. My husband and I were married in a small church wedding in December 1968 and I noticed the similarity in our hairstyles and in the white dinner jacket. White dinner jackets were very popular in Kentucky in 1968! 😀
Yes! The white dinner jacket! I remember giggling over my mom and dad’s wedding photo in the 80’s. But now enough time has passed that those 60’s styles are looking stylish again.
Hi Becky . I married in 1969. Had a small church wedding. I keep and store my old wedding pictures in various places. Photo albums or framed. Thanks for your giveaway. I love anything fall including my coffee. Would love to win your giveaway and read your book relaxing in my recliner with a cup of spiced pumpkin flavored coffee .
“Would love to win your giveaway and read your book relaxing in my recliner with a cup of spiced pumpkin flavored coffee.” That sounds like a great way to spend an afternoon, Shirley!
I love the photos! You’re right. There REALLY is something about weddings. There’s always a sense of joy, even if it’s just looking at wedding photos (of other people!) or reading a wedding story. Thanks for sharing with us! And great prize!
I agree, Annie. A sense of joy really does pervade weddings. It’s lovely!
What a lovely post, Becky. I love all the pictures and how the dresses have changed over the years. I have pics of my mother [all my pics are in storage right now] in a beautiful lace dress over very full, mulitlayered tulle [1953]. My grandmother wore a beautiful ankle-length silk dress with a long, lace edged veil [early 1920s]. My great great grandmother, married in 1886, wore a dress with a modest bustle and a high neck trimmed with three rows of faux pearls. I inherited the collar and used it to tack a lace veil to and wore it as a coronet in my hair.[1975].
Wow! The dresses of your mother, grandmother, and great great grandmother sound stunning.
Really enjoyed your photos!
Thanks, Betty!
I just read To Have and To Hold and all three novellas were just fantastic! I couldn’t put it down!!! I’d love to put that beauty on my shelf!
I don’t have any family wedding photos apart from our own. My husband and his siblings were all married in the same church, one of the few things they have in common. My sisters and I all had very different weddings, one was outdoors, one was large, one was small, one had a separate reception location.
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed To Have and To Hold, Beth Erin! Thanks for reading it. 🙂
I loved all the pictures.What a treasure you have there.I have a few photos in a family album but none of my parents or grandparents wedding wish I did.Your new book sounds great.Diana
Diana, my mom is the one currently in possession of her wedding album and the photos of my grandparents. She was nice enough to snap pictures of them with her phone and text them to me for this post. Thanks, mom!
Loved looking at your pictures and seeing the difference in the years. My husband and I married in 2002 and my dress was strapless even though I was deadset against strapless before I went shopping. But then I tried on the dress and that was it and I knew it. 🙂 We have one wedding portrait hanging up and then the rest are kept in a photo album. Thanks for sharing your family’s weddings with us! I really enjoyed seeing the pictures.
“then I tried on the dress and that was it and I knew it” Love at first try-on! When you know you know. 🙂
Becky, these photos are beautiful! Thank you for the wonderful giveaway!
You’re welcome, Caryl!
The rafflecopter didn’t ask me to sign in so hope it went ok! I come from a family of small weddings! My parents and her mother went to the minister’s home for their wedding! I was married in a church but we each had one attendant! My daughter and her husband each had 2 attendants!
I think it’s wonderful that your family has a tradition of small weddings! Sometimes simple is perfect.
I’m obsessed with Wedding anything. I think it’s because I’ve been married twice an have never had a wedding or reception I feel like I was robbed of that special moment so I like to read about weddings and watch movies as well.