Untitled (proof print: group wedding portrait) c. 1950

Curator: What strikes me immediately about this wedding portrait proof print, probably taken by Martin Schweig, is how much everyone resembles a carefully arranged bouquet. Editor: Yes, there's a formal, almost stagey quality. The sheer volume of flowers! They’re practically shields, aren’t they? It feels like protection. Curator: Perhaps. The flowers could represent fertility and new beginnings—traditional symbols at weddings. But there's a sense of social performance too. Everyone posed just so, their faces carefully composed. Editor: Right. The gaze is forward, towards the future. It’s almost unsettlingly optimistic. I can’t help wondering what became of these lives, these unions. Did they bloom, or wither? Curator: It is tempting to weave stories around them. The careful framing, the light – it’s like a dream, a memory. Editor: A carefully curated dream. It makes me think about the weight of expectations, then and now, that come with the ritual. Curator: Yes, a powerful reminder of the enduring, and evolving, symbolism embedded in these timeless traditions. Editor: A beautiful image. Thanks for sharing it.