Norwegian Wedding, Palo Alto, CA, 1999

During a mixed marriage which celebrated largely the wedding traditions of the bride, the newlyweds perform their first dance to a waltz. Ruth wears her Norwegian bunad and Todd, of Scottish descent, wears a kilt, the tartan of his MacKay clan, adorned with a kilt purse made of fox fur.

Katrina Thomas's notes: Although Norwegians are the most numerous of the Scandinavian immigrant groups, many starting in the 1800's to settle the upper Midwest, weddings that keep customs are difficult to find. However, at a strictly Wasp reception, I photograph a bride of Norwegian descent, who shares kransekake, the traditional wedding cake. Eventually, in 1999, a Norwegian museum in Iowa informs me that a bride in California will borrow its copy of a 19th century wedding crown. She is of Norwegian ancestry whereas the bridegroom is of Scottish mix. I fly west to photograph the nuptial rite, performed in a Lutheran church, and after it, a potluck reception. In combining the two ethnic traditions, Norwegian musical instruments lead the procession to the nuptials, and a bagpipe leads the newlyweds to the reception.