Vows, Views, and Vernacular: Building a Wedding Photography Collection

Step inside a one-of-a-kind collection that captures the beauty, awkwardness, and unexpected moments of weddings across 135 years.

What can a century’s worth of wedding photographs reveal about love, tradition, and the art of photography? Photographer and collage artist Catherine Lash—former owner of The Wedding Co. for over 21 years—and Stephen Bulger, longtime photograph collector and owner of the Stephen Bulger Gallery, have spent more than two decades building a remarkable collection of vernacular wedding images, now part of The Image Centre’s holdings. In this candid Q&A, the couple reflects on how the collection began, the stories it holds, and what makes a wedding photograph worth preserving. 

What first sparked your interest in collecting wedding photographs, and how did the collection begin?

We think building collections is important. Our collection of authentic wedding photographs was sparked by a need: to have a portfolio of print types from the earliest days of photography’s invention to the present. I used to borrow one such portfolio from the Resource Centre in the Photo Arts building at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), but it wasn’t supposed to leave the building—so I wanted to make one of my own as a teaching tool. Catherine was photographing weddings professionally at the time, while also working with vernacular photographs. She already had some great wedding images, so we thought that by concentrating on that theme, the portfolio would feel more cohesive. We’ve enjoyed adding to it ever since.

Over two decades of collecting, what themes or patterns emerged that surprised you?

What started as a process-based collection quickly evolved into a visual catalogue of diverse wedding traditions spanning over 135 years. One surprising discovery has been the many directions we can explore to make the collection more complete. A recurring visual theme is symmetry—wedding parties often appear as mirror images, and that compositional approach appears across different eras and styles.

How did the two of you work together on shaping the collection? Did you have different tastes or approaches?

We truly enjoy building the collection together, even though our motivations sometimes differ. Catherine has a more thorough understanding of the photographer’s perspective and appreciates the constraints they work under. She recognizes how access dictates the moment captured, as well as the design of the photo and the lighting. Stephen has more of a collector’s knowledge, with attention to the condition of the object and how a new addition contributes to the collection as a whole.

What makes a wedding photograph worth collecting, in your view?

It comes down to several factors: composition, print quality, condition, uniqueness, price—and whether it fills a gap or enhances the collection. Many people say that if their house were on fire, they’d grab their wedding photographs. Luckily for us, that level of emotional attachment hasn’t always translated to high market demand. While we’ve occasionally paid a premium for certain photographs, we often find gems to add at very reasonable prices.

Were there any particularly unusual or unexpected items that made their way into the collection? 

There’s a photograph we call “the divorce photograph.” Found by a friend in Brooklyn, NY, it’s a typical 16”x20” colour wedding portrait, but after an argument, the wife smashed the glass, tore herself out of the image, and used the broken glass to scratch an arrow through the man’s head. It’s very surprising and always grabs people’s attention. We were also excited when we started finding pop-photographica objects—paperweights, buttons, and jewellery that incorporate wedding images.

How do you see the role of wedding photography evolving in the digital age?

A good wedding photograph doesn’t depend on the equipment, it depends on the experience and the talent of the photographer. Digital’s low cost, and ability to include sound and motion means there are a lot of pictures taken by more people, but it doesn’t seem to increase the number of great pictures being made. Hopefully people will store their files properly, so future generations will be able to access those digital records as easily as we can open a wedding photo album.  

Why was it important to you to donate this collection to a public institution like The Image Centre?

We curated an exhibition at the Art Gallery of Northumberland (Betrothed, in 2017) and enjoyed seeing how people engaged with the photographs for many different reasons. We met on the TMU campus in 1995 (after graduating in different years) and have remained close to the department and The Image Centre. It’s great to have the collection in their safe hands, where it can be enjoyed by people studying a range of subjects—photography, cultural anthropology, fashion, antique objects, social events, and more.

Have your views on marriage or partnership shifted in any way through the process of building this collection? 

We don’t think the collection has changed our views on marriage. One thing we’ve come to understand, though, is how wedding photos often repeat certain tropes—rituals, poses, and attire designed to convey an image of the “perfect couple” and the “perfect marriage” that society promotes. There’s a different story behind every wedding photograph. We enjoy imagining what those stories are, and what happened to the couples after the photograph was made.

Is there one photograph in the collection that holds particular meaning for you, and why?

Catherine: There are two that always stand out in my mind. One is a small photograph by an unknown maker of two bridesmaids sitting on steps. They’re facing each other, so it looks like a mirror image. The other is by Dave Heath (our former teacher at TMU) of a couple being photographed in Central Park, NY, with the photographer in the foreground.

Stephen: There is a tintype of a wedding bouquet I find touching, and I still enjoy looking at the photograph Cristopher Creighton made using a Banquet Camera at our own wedding from 1998.

The images in this collection offer more than a glimpse into wedding traditions—they open a window onto shifting cultural norms, aesthetic trends, and deeply personal moments captured through the lens. To see more highlights, explore the collection page, and don’t miss Something Old, Something New: The Wedding Photography Collection of Stephen Bulger and Catherine Lash, on view at The Image Centre through June 7.

About The Image Centre
The Image Centre (IMC) is Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography. Established in 2012 at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the heart of the city, the IMC welcomes visitors to explore the intersection of photography and culture. Through compelling exhibitions and engaging public programming, the IMC showcases work by emerging, renowned, and anonymous photographers, past and present. With a growing collection of nearly 400,000 photographic objects and an innovative scholarly research program, the IMC is also a vibrant hub for the preservation and study of photography. For more information, visit theimagecentre.ca.

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For media inquiries, please contact:
Feven Tesfamariam, The Image Centre
ftesfamariam@torontomu.ca