The culture of union...captured on film

A wedding day. Hopefully, one of the happiest days of a person’s life.

This was mine. And it was.

When I think back to what that day meant for me culturally, it involved a massive transition! As I’m sure most couples feel when they marry, I was anxious, nervous, excited, and eager. It was a transition because I went from being Karen Oishi to Karen Walker in the course of a few minutes. And that meant a number of things for me culturally. I became part of a new family. My identity changed. My family expanded. I was now legally and emotionally tied to someone for life. I had a new roommate.

The pictures of our day are significant to us, but, really, only to us! Other people rarely ask to see my wedding album. And as Michele Strano (2006) points out, that’s not unnatural, because:

Although a wedding album may feel personal and individual to the bride and groom, albums are remarkably similar between couples, in part due to the work routines that professional photographers employ and in part due to the conventions wedding participants learn from looking at the wedding albums of friends and celebrity wedding photographs in the mass media. (pp. 37-38)

So, does this mean that my wedding photos are meaningless, and that there is no value in my wedding photos? Not at all.

Understanding who I am individually in our marriage is derived from those photos. I am his wife. I am Karen Walker.

I can also better understand the interpersonal relationship that my husband and I have. Our marriage meant that we joined together and operate as a team.  That helps us to determine our actions and our feelings.

And I can also apply my understanding of our marriage to a cultural level.  Not only are we married, but we are also inextricably linked in a number of other ways: we belong to a larger family, we belong to a group of people who are all married, we live together in the same country, and we speak the same language.

Photography in this context allows for a real celebration of a new experience within the cultural realm, and it is a brilliant way to communicate this cultural change, as well as all of the emotions and joys that accompany it. For me that was elation, adoration, and wonderment!

References

Strano, M.M. (2006). Ritualized transmission of social norms through wedding photography. Communication Theory. Vol. 16. pp. 31-46

Photo credit: personal collection