In honor of my 22nd Wedding Anniversary which was yesterday I thought I would share my small collection of vintage and antique marriage certificates. My husband Rick and I have been married since January 26, 1987. We met in the fourth grade at our elementary school! We dated on and off over the years, through most of high school, we separated for several years after that and eventually married later. There were a lot of detours in our lives before we finally found each other again. I'm happy that we did. I have a great husband!
I love the art work on these certificates. The marriages date from 1893 to 1925. I have a few more in my collection that are unframed but they haven't fared as well as the framed ones have. They are brittle and torn. I keep them in a drawer for safekeeping.
One of the framed certificates has photos hidden behind but I can't remember which one and these are all fragile too. A few have very brittle wood backings that I don't want to remove.
I often wonder why a family would let these precious memories go to a stranger. I wonder that about family photos and heirlooms too. I can't imagine letting these things go but I know not everyone feels the way I do. I still have my Grandma's Milk Glass candy dish full of gum and candies just as it was the day she died. That was in 1993! Not everyone is so sentimental!
I like collecting these bits of family history but I wish the families could have enjoyed them as I have. They have a place of honor in my home. I've thought of looking for the descendants of each family but I haven't had the time. I've done lots of genealogy research myself and I'm sure I would be able to find them easily. Maybe I will work on that soon...
I acquired most of these on eBay a few years ago when I had time and money to spare! I really love them all and they hang in my guest bedroom where I can admire them. I often wonder if these couples stayed married and for how long. I guess that's another reason why I love collecting them. There are unanswered questions.Each has a bit of mystery to them. It is my hope that they all lived long and happy lives with their own families.
I tried to take good photographs of them this morning but the weather wouldn't cooperate. Freezing rain and paper don't mix so I had to take photos outside under our covered porch area. Not the best for lighting so please pardon the reflections. I hope you enjoyed looking at my collection!
For Better, For Worse,
For Richer, For Poorer,
In Sickness, And In Health
To Love And To Cherish
Till Death Us Do Part.
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