Tag Archives: Arthur Blaine McClain

“The” Wedding, July 9, 1933 (Part 6)

When I posted “Part 5” about Lloyd & Florence Wright’s wedding over a year ago, I thought that would be the last one. Well, I found some more photos from the wedding, so here goes “Part 6″…

This first photo almost wouldn’t be worth posting, but for a very informative note on the back.

During the wedding ceremony (L to R): Harold Wright (mostly cut off), Irvine Wright, Lloyd Wright (groom), Florence McClain (bride), Anna Wright, Shirley Briggs, Dorothy Holmes. On the ground in front of the bridesmaids are flower petals that the flower girl, Shirley McClain, dumped on the ground before making her escape.
Note on the back of the photo above. I am guessing this was written by Arthur McClain based on the knowledge of arrangements for the flower girl and references to members of the extended McClain family. But it may have been written by one of Arthur’s brothers.

Here is the note transcribed, in case you have difficulty with the handwriting:

I [snapped] this in midst of ceremony. I aimed to get minister but failed. I hurried as I was afraid I’d attract attention but don’t think I was noticed.

The chair was for flower girl but she spied Delmar and ran over to him.


Note rose petals on ground where she emptied the basket. The basket was one Florence used at Deo’s wedding and I suppose you recognize lattice.

Delmar (son of Clyde McClain) was 12½ years old at the time. I’m not sure why three-year-old Shirley would have run to him rather than one of her siblings or her parents or some other cousin closer to her age. Possibly he was the first person in the audience that she happened to see and recognize. Possibly all the younger children and cousins were not in the audience.

The reference to Deo (John Deo McClain, Arthur McClain’s first cousin, who lived in Albany) and his wedding to Pearl Smith 20 years previous (3 September 1913) may shed some light on a couple of photos posted here some time ago. Apparently the basket Shirley carried at Lloyd & Florence’s wedding was the same one Florence carried herself as a three-year-old flower girl at Deo and Pearl’s wedding.

Here are the two flower girls side-by-side. The basket Florence is carrying is certainly similar to the one Shirley is carrying. I am hoping to get confirmation that the photo of Florence was, in fact, taken at Deo and Pearl’s wedding, which would settle the matter.

When I originally posted the photo of Florence as flower girl, I gave her age as four based on a notation accompanying the photo. I observed at the time that another photo of her in the same outfit, with a notation giving her age as three, could not possibly have been taken a year earlier. It seems likely now that she was three and not four in both photos.

A final comment about the note on the back of the photo above. It would be interesting to know who the note was written to (and, with certainty, who wrote it). The comment about the lattice seems to suggest that the recipient of this note had some part in providing or setting up the lattice.

Getting back to photos of Lloyd & Florence’s wedding…

(L to R) Harold Wright, Irvine Wright, Lloyd Wright, Florence McClain, Anna Wright, Shirley Briggs, Dorothy Holmes.

I imagine the above photo was taken after the ceremony. Whatever is going on behind the camera seems to have given a chuckle to the wedding party—particularly Irvine.

L to R: John Wright (mostly cut off), Harold Wright, Irvine Wright, Lloyd Wright, Florence McClain, Anna Wright, Shirley Briggs, Dorothy Holmes. In front on right: Shirley McClain.

The above photo is interesting for all the different facial expressions and different directions that people are looking. Dorothy seems entertained by something the flower girl is saying or doing. Poor Uncle John Wright just didn’t get any respect. As observed in previous posts about the wedding, quite a few photos of the wedding party missed him entirely, just as the ones in this post do.

I expect this will conclude posts about Mom and Dad’s wedding, but there is always the possibility that I will find more photos of the event stashed somewhere-or-other.