Composition of Italian Wedding Parties

[rp76226]

All four of my grandparents came from Italy, met and married in the Bronx, NYC, NY. What is striking about their wedding party photos in 1920 and 1924 is that almost all of the wedding party is female. The same was true with the 1924 wedding of my grandfather's cousin. While there were many flower girls in addition to the bride and maid of honor, the only males were the groom, best man, and the ring boy. Was that an Italian tradition? In today's weddings each flower girl has a male usher paired with her.

Ron

[darkerhorse]

I don't know what's typical.

In my limited experience, wedding parties were fairly balanced by gender.

In my family, more males than females immigrated, at least between 1900 and 1930, so I'd be surprised to see a majority of females in wedding photos.

What's you gender mix of adults? Do you also have group photos of attendees?

[darkerhorse]

Don't know if it matters culturally, but mine are all Sicilians.

[MarcuccioV]

I was sent a wedding photo from a DNA match (with shared ancestors). It is split pretty much 50-50 men/women. South-central Lazio, SE of Rome around 1930...

[rp76226]

I now found a fourth photo of another marriage from 1922 again in the US. As far as the female to male splits of these photos:

Two (both grooms) immigrated from Altamura, Bari were 11 females to 3 males (groom, best man, and ring boy) for 1924 marriages. The Sicily immigrants were 8 females to 2 males for the 1920 marriage and 6 females to two males (groom and best man) for the 1922 marriage.

I was only able to attach 3 of the photos.

Ron

[MarcuccioV]

It's possible these were only one of a set of photos of different groups. Families sometimes requested separations of various family members (for whatever reason) and that may explain it (or may not).

Could have also been the photographer's option to do so.

I'd say, at least in my experience, that it's unusual based on others I've seen...

[amerital43]

All four of my grandparents came from Italy, met and married in the Bronx, NYC, NY. What is striking about their wedding party photos in 1920 and 1924 is that almost all of the wedding party is female. The same was true with the 1924 wedding of my grandfather's cousin. While there were many flower girls in addition to the bride and maid of honor, the only males were the groom, best man, and the ring boy. Was that an Italian tradition? In today's weddings each flower girl has a male usher paired with her.

Ron

I think what you're seeing is just family. In the top pic you provided with all the hats its very possible that all the females were sisters or very close cousins. How could you as a bride, have 2 or 3 sisters and not the other 4? Because even though people were living in the City now, and not the Old Country farm, the parents still kept having kids. So families were still large.

In the other pics I think they just added in family members that weren't necessarily in the wedding party. Some of the females are NOT dressed alike which would indicate whether they were bride's attendees, or just relatives. They may have taken the photo to send back to family so other family members were in it.

I have a photo of a large Italian wedding from the 1930s? and for each bridesmaid, there's a groomsmen. So I think my theory may have some weight.

[rp76226]

There were only two sisters who came to America for the 1924 wedding photos. None for the 1920 marriage which I was unable to attach.

[darkerhorse]

I have family wedding photos of Sicilian immigrants to America in the first quarter of the 20th century. There are both photos of just the wedding party and photos of extended family.