History-loving couple has old-style portraits taken on their wedding day

By Emma Dunn via SWNS

A pair of "history buffs" hired an old-style photographer to take heirloom portraits on their wedding day and say they're "delighted" with the 19th century style pictures.

Allie Cossack, 33, decided to hire the local photographer after being inspired by her florist, who had the vintage portraits done.

Her history buff husband, Cory Perry, 34, who works for the National Guard and is a student nurse, loved the idea and the couple spent the hour before the ceremony posing for the photos.

Photographer Maurene Cooper - who owns Vanity Tintype - set up a portable dark room to process the photographs in chemicals.

A tintype is a photo made by creating a direct positive on a thin sheet of metal coated with a dark lacquer or enamel and used as the support for the photographic emulsion.

Allie and Cory loved watching their photos develop and come to life and are thrilled with the outcome.

Now they have the special photos to hang in their future home together.

Allie, a photographer and art director, from New York City, said: “It was a slow, beautiful process.

“You had to wait 15 minutes for each tintype to develop. We had to stay really still to take the photos.

“It was really exciting to see it when it developed. Cory has always had an interest in history - particularly the late 1800s to 1900s.

“He loves the old gritty soldier portraits. It was perfect for us.

“Now it will be a unique staple in our home. He even has the portrait of me in his office at work.”

Allie came up with the unique idea after her florist shared her portraits from a tintype shoot.

She hired Philadelphia photographer – Vanity Tintype – to take the carefully constructed photos on their wedding day in August 2022.

“Cory is the kind of guy that deeply researches things before going somewhere,” she said.

“He likes visiting sites of wars. I think for him having a historic aesthetic piece is really cool.”

The couple - who have been together for 12-and-a-half years - took the photos before their ceremony on August 26, 2022 after doing their 'first look.'

Photographer Maurene puts tin into the camera before taking a photo and developing it in her portable darkroom - which was the length of a minivan.

“We had to stand very very still,” Allie said.

“I remember saying to Cory to stand still out of the corner of my mouth when he was shifting too much.”

The couple had eight photos taken in total. As some can end up out of focus, they had four final ones they were happy with.

The photographs, created by a process invented during the American civil war, are a special token of the wedding day for Allie and Cory.

“It was meant for us,” Allie said.

“Cory loves it and thinks they are really cool. I envisioned them hanging on the wall in our future dream house.

“They will be a unique staple in our home like portraits from another time.”