Musical accompaniment: That Dear Old Song by Anton Karas
I came across a curious wedding photograph from 1890 to share with you. I suppose the photographer must have told them to pose that way. Based on this photo, since that is all we have, what sort of a life do you think they had?
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Something about this picture doesn’t give me much confidence in this couple’s future happiness. We can’t see her too clearly, but he has the unmistakeable look of a man who is waiting to catch a bus.
old spirituals 
The music is uniquely entertaining.
As a former wedding photographer (pre-digital cameras) I fell confident saying this genre of photography has evolved over the decades. A significant change, because of camera capability improvements, went from posed stationary pictures to mostly candid shots, with some posed studio photographs of the bride.
This posed picture directs the viewer’s focus towards the groom. In later decades it was common for the bride to have the attention.
Your interpretation of the photo is because the poses does not create the image of a new union . . . or a partnership . . . of a man and a woman. For me it portrays separation not a coupling.
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Yes! it does look like a separation. I love the music from The Third Man. That’s a great movie!
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this is a bad sign for the marriage ahead
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Yes! There’s nothing happy or promising about this picture.
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