I think the trim on the dress may be rayon,could be silk but it looks like the trim on my baby bonnet from 1942. Rayon was used a lot, I have some rayon bias tape that is from 1930's.It is a kind of twisted stuff, you can untwist the cord on the dress I think so made up of several strands & then sewn on with small stitches over the cord going in direction of the twist so they can't even be seen. The chiffon type fabric is used in doll clothes in late 1800's & early 1900's. Might talk to someone who collects old dolls & show them pics. They could probably identify all the materials used. Better check on those flour sacks before you wash them & find out value try "textiles", 'kitchen" "ADVERTISING"try that 1 1st. Different books & different sites call things by different names. Lovely gown. One idea would be to get photo of the wedding couple & add a piece of gown(taken from back so won't show) & put under glass around 1 side of photo along with another item if you have it,(piece of jewelry she wore- wedding announcement in paper, maybe bit of flour sack from 1 not in such great shape) use an acidfree piece of heavy stock to mount all this in a nice way to enjoy & put in frame fronted with glass. Hang near the gown. A letter would be nice with her handwriting. That way you would have a little bit of her still with you!! Jan

Yes, San Francisco. This was taken from the upper level of a Hop On, Hop Off bus. We weren't looking for street signs, etc. Sorry.

Congratulations to you! How exciting. You are talking about a party 13-14 months away. I wouldn't worry about it yet. When you decide on the date, time, and location of your party, just send invitations out the usual few weeks before; don't send out "save the date" cards. Don't call it a wedding reception (six or seven months later is just too much for that, and anyway, you're having a small celebration in Las Vegas, not eloping) or an anniversary party (too early), just "a party" or "a Las Vegas cocktail party" or whatever. I wouldn't even mention the wedding on the invitation. You don't have to announce that the party is in celebration of your marriage, because they all know you got married anyway and will figure it out from the timing and the Las Vegas theme besides. So mentioning the wedding on the invitation might look like a prompt for gifts, as if to say, "We chose to have a destination wedding and not to include you, but we don't want to miss out on getting gifts, so after 17 years we are trying to have it both ways." I'm sure that's not really your purpose, but you don't want to spoil the feeling of your nice, fun party by creating that impression in even one guest. Just give "a" party -- everyone will understand why, and you won't look pushy or greedy.

A freelancer is a person who works for themselves. They book the events; they take the photos; you deal only with them. A production company is a company that has several photographers on staff. You may or may not be able to choose who you work with. If you are thinking of taking photos at a casino, for instance, they usually have staff photographers that you may be required to use. If you are taking photos on the street, at a park or another public location, you should be able to choose your own photographer. I agree with you that I don't see why it is necessary to hire someone to do the photos unless the venue where you plan to take them requires it. Some venues are concerned about how their establishment may be represented if they don't control who takes photos and the quality of the photos. When deciding between two photographers, scrutinize their portfolios and decide whose photos you like best. The other criteria, which you cannot judge by long distance, is the photographer's personality. A person may take great photos but be a pain to work with, which can make the entire experience unpleasant.