Wedding Albums

Overtthehills, Mehimthem, I did feel a pang of envy when I read your posts. Had my marriage not ended in divorce I probably would not think twice about the photos now other than to have a good laugh with my family at the fashions and formal poses. It's something I will never be able to do now as it still gives me a painful twang to look at them. I agree with you Grandma2213 about how precious an actual photo from the time will probably be for future generations to see.

In these days of easily deleted digital photos I think it is worth hanging onto old albums/photos for history's sake. I am always fascinated by old photos of my grandparents.

I have no wedding photos as it was Registry Office with only both sets of parents there. I cooked a casserole for lunch! We then took MIL and FIL home where they had arranged a surprise party with relatives I did not know. My now ex was so drunk I had to climb over him, 6 months pregnant to get to bed! We then went to visit my parents where for the first time, we were allowed to share a bed! Still no photos. I may have to write an autobiography to allow my DC to experience their family history!

overthehills - your post made me smile, as when I married #2 hubby, he & I chose a very small church, immediate family only to attend & definitely no photos. Hindsight is a fine thing though, & luckily my Mum took a few, but some missed our heads or half the photo, lol. The only photo of our meal (at home that we cooked for our family), it was too dim, & no flash - so a black/dark photo. And because I married in a day-dress (ie not long, white) we had various locals supposing that we got married "because we had to".

I’ve never been divorced but I don’t have an album. It’s just struck me that I don’t have the faintest idea where my wedding photos are! Must have a think as they’d give my DC and DGC a laugh. I recently threw out DD’s wedding photos, except a lovely one of DS and DDiL. DD has kept her album in case her little girl wants to see it.

Do think about your children when you consider disposing of wedding albums, rings etc. It's important for them to know that they are the result of what was once a loving union, not just a terrible mistake.

Wedding photos aren't just about the couple, they're a slice of family history, probably recording one of very few times when the whole family got together in their best array. If you don't want to keep the photos, pass them on to the next generation. If no one wants them, it might still be worth scanning and storing some of the group photos before destroying the originals.

I hurled my album on to the bonfire.....very satisfying.

I was looking through old photos just the other day & found my wedding #1 album from the late 1970's. My parents had organised 3 albums (for us, & 1 each for our parents) - goodness knows where those other 2 ended up, lol. I think I will take out a couple of the nicer photos of my own family & ... (maybe, maybe) one of the XH & me for our son - but son is in his mid-30's now & has vehemently said on a number of occasions that he wants nothing to do with his birth father, nor anything to remind him of him. So am probably quite safe to toss it away. Bad memories, just taking up space. But, just maybe the rings & jewellery could be remade; I'd forgotten about them.

I kept my 1st wedding album and when we moved abroad I gave my eldest daughter the wedding album, other albums of them growing up and lots of loose photos. I also did the same for my second family. My first family had a lovely afternoon looking through the albums and photos. They decided to leave the albums with my eldest daughter and then took their own photos from the loose pile. At least when their Dad died 3 years later they had a ready supply to add to his funeral service paper

I found my sisters first wedding albums among my late father photos. I didn’t really want it. So I asked my late sister’s son if he wanted it and he did. It is your children’s heritage, so ask them first.

That's really nice thing to say!

Grantante look at Facebook there are lots of pages on there and they would love you to bits if you put your WW2 pics on them. Most towns have ‘heritage’ pages on FB, join them and post your photos.

How similar to me Sharon103. Another thought of mine was to dump the album on the doorstep of his lady love but am now so pleased I didn't. If anyone was to throw it in a bin it should have been me, not the 'lady'. I too threw some family photos in a bag and left them in the boot of his car. They were carefully selected as not being the best though. I was really just wanting to hurt him and maybe try and make him think about the family life he had thrown away, but the only person who really hurt carrying out these 'acts of revenge' was me, as the ex and his new love wouldn't have cared. Yes, I'm pleased I am in control of the album and can see now how much you regret passing it over to your ex. The passage of time does make a huge difference. Thank you everyone who has responded. You've certainly made me think carefully about the future of my photos.

My thoughts are to keep the album. I gave ours to my ex husband, who was also a Jack the lad and left in 1987 to live live with a woman that he worked with.My double in fact. I also threw my wedding ring at him. I don't know what he did with that. I went through every single photo that I had which featured him, bagged them up and gave them to him, which now I regret as lots of them also had our young children in them. Our wedding album he said that he gave it to his mother and she burnt it. I deeply regret not having the wedding photo's as the album contained my mum and dad, aunties, uncles, friends that since our wedding day in 1975, have all died and I would dearly have loved our now adult children to have seen. My ring I would have given to my daughter if I still had it. Anniepops, put the album back where you found it and forget about it. xxx

I have my sons album to take care of. He doesn't want present wife to see it!

I put mine in a box with other family photos with my former husband, ready for our adult children to find after
I pop my clogs. Remember it’s our kids history too.

Chuck it?

I’m in a ‘one sided marriage’ as one of your postee’s puts it. My wedding album is in the loft for my kids to see that they were born out of love and were both very much wanted! We were happy and loving once! We haven’t been these twenty years past though. I don’t divorce cos of financial reasons . We live stagnant lives ...I don’t look at the photos now. What a sad set of statements!

I keep all photos that I know I still want to be able to look at, and have destroyed those that will have no meaning for the younger generation after my death.

At present I am wading through my parents' 60 odd years of photos, plus my maternal grandmother's. My paternal grandparents' photos have gone to my cousins on that side of the family.

If there are children or grandchildren who might be interested now or later, then either give them the photos or keep them for them later.

I'm currently trying to find out whether any local archive wants WW2 photos.

I too was traded in for a younger model after 21yrs of marriage Anniepops but I never remarried, got too comfortable in my own company, not having to worry about meals on time etc. I have kept my wedding album for the sake of the children really, he was still their Dad and he passed away last year so I think they will appreciate it even more'

I asked my kids and they wanted to keep the photos of me and their father together. With my 2nd husband ( no kids with him) for various reasons, my daughter and I took great delight in shredding most of his photos, except the family group ones.... and we laughed our heads off just cutting him out of the group .... was very therapeutic !

I have kept mine - as some others have said it is my history and my childen's history. I've still got my wedding dress and still wear my engagement ring but on the other hand. The only thing I got rid of is my wedding ring - I broke the chain of the cross my granddad gave me for my 21st birthday so I sold the broken chain, another 'too tight' chain and my wedding ring to pay for a new one.

I still have my wedding album from 1966. My husband left in 1985 for an older model. Maybe my daughters and granddaughter's will want to see it, for the fashions if nothing else in years to come. They can do what they like with it.

I have 2 such albums and haven’t managed to throw either out because of all the other people shown in them! However I tried to throw out all the love letters my first husband and I sent to each other and I simply can’t do it! He didn’t cheat or anything : I was the one who left .... why can’t I throw them away?

I gave my first wedding photo album to my younger daughter who wanted it. My engagement ring was 'recycled' into another piece of jewellery. My wedding ring I still have as it is a lovely piece of jewellery and this will get passed on, maybe to a granddaughter.

I also married in 1978 and after 30 years found out about his affairs. Took my photo album and burnt it on a bonfire in the garden .....
He was more upset than me but I felt it was what I needed to do and have no regrets