We carried home a nice assortment of family heirlooms after a visit to Daniel’s grandparents’ house last summer, including the 1913 wedding certificate of Daniel’s great grandparents.

Dated January 15, 1913, it’s the oldest personal historical item we own. I love everything about it: lovers on a calm sea at sunset, the little cherub, floralia galore, and pretty type. I don’t think Daniel met Porter or Emma Wise, so it’s lovely and a bit eerie to have this connection to them. It’s also nice – in our own, still new marriage – to feel connected to a couple who married over 100 years ago.

We keep it on display in the bedroom in a simple frame with gallery quality UV glass to deter additional fading over time.

Family heirlooms have great nostalgic and historical value, even in an age when the new and innovative compete for our attention.