THROUGH THE ARCHIVES: Portadown church setting for 'pretty' wedding ceremony

From the News Letter, August 8, 1930
St Mark's Church, Portadown. Picture: GoogleSt Mark's Church, Portadown. Picture: Google
St Mark's Church, Portadown. Picture: Google

The News Letter on this day in 1930 reported that St Mark’s Parish in Church had been the setting for what the paper described as a ‘pretty’ wedding.

The marriage was of Miss Millicent Grace Girling, the only daughter of Mr and Mrs G Philip Girling, Portadown, and Mr Keith Cranston Mann, BA, BAI, AMICE, the only son of Mr and Mrs Frederick T Mann of Dublin. The News Letter noted that the church had been artistically decorated with palms and as guests assembled the organist of St Mark’s had played “appropriate selections”.

The bride’s mother wore a gown of navy chameuse, with a vest of shell pink, and a hat of black straw and felt, while the bridegroom’s mother wore a two-piece suit in black, trimmed with Persian lamb, and a black straw hat “relieved with touches of white”.

The paper also noted that as the bride slowly came down the aisle on the arm of her father, who subsequently gave her away, the organist played the Wedding March from Lohengrin.

The Rev G W O’C Millington, MA, rector of Portadown parish conducted the ceremony and was ably assisted by the Rev C F G Magill, MA. At the conclusion of the ceremony the new Mr and Mrs Mann left the church to the strains of Mendelssohn’s Wedding March.

A reception was then held at Gleneden, the residence of Mr T H Spence, JP, who had kindly lent the property for the occasion.

The newly-weds spent then travelled to Switzerland for their honeymoon.

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