I’ve combined Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge, and Steve Little’s The 2025 AI Genealogy Do-Over, to create a unique 52 AI ancestors in 52 weeks party!

52 AI Ancestors in 52 Weeks: Week 23: Wedding bells

Framed with Love: Ancestral Weddings Remembered

Introduction

Weddings are so special, aren’t they? They just get me all verklempt (“overcome with emotion,” courtesy of Yiddish and the Oxford dictionary). One of the first records genealogists grab for are marriage licenses—oh boy, they can be treasure troves. Parents’ names! Dates! The good ones pack six ancestor names and multiple locations into a single document. Jackpot.

Discussion

This week, though, I’m thinking less about the record and more about the moment. You may recall from last week’s post—my son is getting married. His bride suggested a “wedding photos” table, and you know I couldn’t resist diving into the archives.

I had the best time pulling old family wedding photos from my (somewhat chaotic but searchable) digital files, printing them out, and slipping them into frames. Of course, each frame got a caption on the back: who’s who, the year, and how they’re related to the groom. I felt like a curator of love stories.

As I packed them for the trip, I thought about the marriages I still haven’t found, and the one I just found—an 1899 record that finally popped up after years of being offline. There’s something satisfying about knowing these people are going with us, remembered and seen, even if only in 8×10 frames.

Figure 1 The wedding photos of my son’s ancestors

How AI can help

That 1899 marriage wasn’t online until it suddenly was. The internet changes faster than a wedding dress design trend. What’s offline one year might be searchable the next.

That’s where AI helps. Tools like Google’s Gemini or Microsoft’s Researcher can help sniff out newly digitized marriage records—whether tucked into a small county archive’s catalog or buried in a church’s scanned register.

Try asking a chatbot:

“What resources can I check for a Lutheran marriage in Michigan around 1890?”

You might discover something you didn’t even know to look for —from database leads to specific archives you hadn’t considered. AI can’t do the research for you, but it can absolutely help point you in new directions.

Summary

Weddings remind us not just of love, but of connection—between past and present, stories and records. Whether it’s a long-lost marriage license or a cherished photo in a wedding display, our ancestors show up when we make space for them. And sometimes, AI gives us just the nudge we need.

Further Resources

• FamilySearch: Where to Start with Marriage Records
• Reclaim the Records
• Try this AI prompt:
  “Where can I find marriage records for [Name], in [County/State], around [Year], possibly in a [Religion] church?”

Next week’s topic: “Artistic.“

Disclosure

This post was created by me with the help of AI tools. While AI helps organize research, the storytelling and discoveries are my own.