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The bride pictured here is now the mother of 16 children. Al and Beata wed in the 1950s and reader Chris sent us an amazing album with family wedding photos from their wedding and their children's (and grandchildren's!) weddings.
Here is what Chris had to say about the submission:
My future mother-in-law is one of 16 (a good Catholic family in Nebraska), and I recently came into most of the wedding photos from the family. These photos begin with my fiance's grandparents and continue to the very youngest aunt (who is younger, actually, than my fiance. I know).It was so wonderful to watch the progression of wedding fashion through these family photos.
To make it easier on the rest of the world, the family is named alphabetically. So Grandma and Grandpa are Al and Beata, and their first born is Cindy. They kept going until they reached Stephanie. Which I think is just sort of awesome.
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Dancing in a barn, petticoat flying, and the most adorable band ever. Check out the bass player!
Here is a shot of Al and Beata and all of their children. The little one in the front is featured at her own wedding later on.
Here is Al and Beata's oldest, Cindy, at her wedding. I love the flower-child chic.
Al and Beata's seventh, Irene, with her husband Jim. We've definitely stepped into the '80s with this one. And Jim is rockin' that white suit.
As I teased earlier, here is their 16th, Stephanie, with her husband Paul. Sunrise, sunset…
And finally the third generation, Cindy's daughter Julie, with her husband Aaron. With a family this large, they must go to weddings and birthday parties constantly.
About the Author: Catherine Clark
Catherine Clark loiters at her local library, makes art, watches movies en masse, plays video and tabletop games, poorly cooks healthy things, cuddles with her feline fur babies, and blogs at BijouxandBits.com.
Gaah the 80s!
The story is really cute, and so is the petticoat. It is neat to see various generations and decades.
Dear lord, though I am taking heavily from the 80’s in my dress, please guide me safely away from the dangers of leg o mutton sleeves. Amen.
What a gift to have all these pictures of family weddings. Thanks so much for sharing them!
Do I see an early ’90s wedding there? Or maybe late ’80s. The hair is still awfully high for the ’90s. But those bridesmaids’ dresses really give away the era. I swear, there must’ve been a law passed around 1985 that bridesmaids’ gowns must possess three or more of the following: 1) sweetheart neckline, 2) dropped waist, 3) poofy sleeves, 4) basque waist, and 5) butt bow.
I dearly love these vintage snacks. Doesn’t the rainbow bridal party in their huge gowns make you smile? I don’t see how it couldn’t.
I saw the rainbow bridal party and my first thought was: “That looks nice. It must be a wedding of 5 brides at the same time. — Huh, offbeat intern talks about one couple only. Then who is the bride??!”
Then it dawned unto me that it was probably the girl in white who was getting married. I guess have seen my share of coloured wedding dresses 😀
MADE MY DAY. I have a total fixation with pictures of families as they grow. Totally obsessed with the alphabetically named children. Olinda!!
I would love to know the G, H, L and P names (I’m a name nerd!)
wow – awesome photos, beautiful family, and such a great legacy! the alphabetically named children is one thing but to make it to S – amazing! not only is the progression of the family wonderful to see, but the progression of weddings is fascinating.
What an amazing story and the years they present in this story.
Loved it! Thank you so much!!
These are so great 😀 . It reminds me of the post about “it’s ok/cool that your wedding is going to look dated” that Ariel wrote…?
What a fantasic collection!
This is amazing. How cool to have so many weddings together like this!
I didn’t realize where all of these awful 80s wedding dresses (including my mother’s, 1982) came from until this year’s Royal Wedding. I blame Diana. I’m sure the present day on-beat wedding albums will feature Middleton-alikes for years to come.
My dad is one of 13 and mom is one of 7. I have over 100 cousins in both families. AND we’re Catholic. So your assumption of weddings, parties and especially baby showers is correct, ALL THE TIME! But funerals happen nearly as much, too. 🙁 It IS nice, however, to have such a large, close-knit family.