Favorite Photos

***This post was transferred from the Finding Horace blog.***

Originally published on Finding Horace 14 Jan. 2024.

Grandma and Grandpa Palermo's wedding.  

Let's start at the top.  My grandmother (Rose Aloisio) and grandfather (Martin Palermo) were married - well, I see I'm going to have to call my cousin...again. I have conflicting license dates - 6/23/44 & 6/28/44 - and places - Florida and New York.  (After a quick text conversation with my cousin and aunt, I am no closer to 'the answer.' My aunt suggested maybe they took out more than one license.  They were living in Florida at the time, but the rest of Grandma's family was in New York.) For simplicity's sake, I'll just say they were married...somewhere...in June of 1944.  My grandmother was a hairdresser, and I remember my aunt saying that Grandma Rose was so busy doing everyone else's hair that she didn't get to do her own!  Her hair always looked immaculate, though, and there's nothing in these photos to suggest she didn't spend at least a little time putting it in order.

In the photo on the bottom left, we have - from left to right - Aunt Mary (grandma's sister), my grandfather, my grandmother, and Uncle Pete (grandma's brother).  Bottom right is Grandpa Martin, Aunt Nell (grandma's sister), Grandma Rose, and Uncle Sal (Nell's husband).  I love everything about these photos.  Grandma Rose is radiant, and Grandpa Martin is dapper.  They look unabashedly happy, too. It is also evident that Grandpa got along well with his in-laws.  It looks like Aunt Mary is sitting on his lap, and he and Aunt Nell have an arm around each other.  There is so much more personality in these photos than in the posed ones of more modern day wedding photography.

Then there's the spread of baked goods on the tables.  If you look closely, you can just make out a white wedding cake in the center.  It's difficult to see, but there is a bride and groom figurine sitting atop it.  Then, there appears to be at least three other dessert trays, and I'm willing to bet they contain an assortment of Italian wedding cookies and possibly a cannoli cake!

My grandma and grandpa's time together was unfortunately brief, but there is so much love in these photos.