Image: A film still showing a bride and groom’s exit following their wedding ceremony (SPRA 253.01.02, Fonds 253: Jerry Stojan family fonds)
Movie Monday highlights videos from the Archives’ film collection. Every week, an archival film will be featured on our YouTube channel and here on our blog. The Movie Monday project is made possible with the generous funding support of Swan City Rotary Club of Grande Prairie.
The wedding season of 2020 has passed us by, but we thought perhaps you would still enjoy this footage from a wedding that took place ca. 1961. This film is part of the Jerry Stojan family fonds and was possibly filmed by Jerry himself, but unfortunately we do not have record of whose wedding it portrays.
As with most weddings, the fashion trends of the time would have played a key role in the bride’s choices regarding her attire and that of her bridesmaids. The bridal gown seen in the film is in keeping with some of the more popular styles of the day: it features a lace or sheer bodice and collar and is accompanied by a long veil, such as was worn by Grace Kelly in 1956. Pastel blue, yellow, and pink were the favoured colours for décor and bridesmaids dresses, and fascinators with veils (also known as cocktail hats) were commonly worn by the ladies of the wedding entourage.
The film shows the bride and groom exiting the building after the ceremony, and also includes shots from the reception. As the scenes from the reception will show, filming indoors with an 8mm camera was at times difficult and the results were often overly dark; that may be one of the reasons why the wedding ceremony was not filmed.
We hope you enjoy the video and have a very happy Thanksgiving!