Related by Marriage: The Exit

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. Mr. Irene's Mom wears a stylish, sheared beaver capelet.

Related by Marriage: Solemn

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. Guests await the beginning of the wedding ceremony.

Related by Marriage: Attention

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. The honor guard at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents listen to the ceremony.

Related by Marriage: Bridal Fashions

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, about 1957 or 1958. Let's take another look at the bridal party.

Related by Marriage: Traditions

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. Mr. Irene's Parents exchange wedding vows.

There are few people in the pews; contrast with the numbers of many guests at the reception, here and here. The discrepency may stem from a familiar custom: Lithuanians used to maintain that the marriage ceremony was a private ritual meant to be observed only by close family. More peripheral relatives and friends did not attend the church service, but they took part in the celebration. I attended many wedding receptions, but I witnessed few marriage masses.

This tradition is similar to the christening one.

Related by Marriage: Afternoon Joy

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, mid-1950s. Betty, a lifelong friend of Mr. Irene's Mom, gets married.

Related by Marriage: Saturday Celebration

Nativity BVM, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, about 1957 or 1958. Here's another snapshot from that coworker's wedding.

Related by Marriage: Escort

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, January 1958. A V.F.W. honor guard leads Aunt Agnes and another relative to their seats.

Related by Marriage: Happy Anniversary

Mr. Irene's Parents today celebrate their fifty-seventh wedding anniversary.

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. The service has ended, and Mr. Irene's Parents prepare to head to the reception.

Related by Marriage: Church Steps

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, about 1957 or 1958. It's nice to see the flower girl dressed as a bridesmaid. I dislike the custom of styling a flower girl as a miniature bride.

Related by Marriage: After the Ceremony

Nativity BVM, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, about 1957 or 1958. Mr. Irene's Mom attends the wedding of a coworker.

Related by Marriage: Arrival

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. The honor guard begins the procession at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents.

All Souls' Day, Again

Nativity BVM, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1956. I'm not a religious person, but I like the idea of a memorial day for loved ones.

ADDED: All Saints' Day in Lithuania.

Related by Marriage: Church Door

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, mid-1950s. The bride is Betty, a friend of Mr. Irene's Mother. The two women grew up together in Bridgeport, attended the same parochial schools, and remained lifelong friends. You've seen Betty earlier here, when she and Mr. Irene's Mom served together as bridesmaids.

Related by Marriage: Honor Guard

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 11, 1958. The honor guard escorts Mr. Irene's Parents out of the church on their wedding day.

Nativity BVM

I wrote earlier about the cultural ease with which Lithuanians approach funerals. Few funerals go unrecorded.

When Mr. Irene's Dad returned to Chicago from his service in the U.S. Army, a young friend of his died. The friend was crossing a street in Marquette Park, and a car hit him. He left behind a wife and several young children.

The friend's funeral took place at the Lithuanian church in Marquette Park, Nativity BVM. That's the same church at which Mr. Irene's parents later married.

Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, 1956. The funeral Mass gets underway at Nativity BVM.

Related by Marriage: Happy Anniversary

The blog earlier featured one photo of the wedding day of Mr. Irene's Parents.

Today, we celebrate their fifty-fourth wedding anniversary!

Marquette Park, Chicago, January 1958. Mr. Irene's Mom—the bride!!—is in the living room, ready to head to the church. Her sister, Martha, stands on the left. The other attendant is a friend, Irene. The bridesmaids' dresses were a peachy flesh color.

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Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, January 1958. A V.F.W. Honor Guard greeted the newlyweds as they exited the church. The Honor Guard participated in the service because Mr. Irene's Dad had served in the U.S. Army; he was a veteran of the Korean War.

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Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. The happy couple waits for the reception to begin. The bride has removed her glasses, and she's holding them with her left hand.

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Marquette Park, Chicago, Illinois, January 1958. A classic Lithuanian wedding band played after dinner. (Be still, my heart.)

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Marquette Park, Chicago, January 1958. It's the first dance.

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Marquette Park, Chicago, Janunary 1958. The guests had a great time. It looks smokey!

Related by Marriage: Prayers for the Newlyweds

Nativity BVM Church, Marquette Park, Chicago, January 1958. Mr. Irene's maternal Grandparents, Stanley and Anna, on the left, pray at the wedding of Mr. Irene's Parents. Aunts Petra and Agnes sit with Anna and Stanley.