Just Married! Wedding Stories from Jewish Maryland
Meet the Salganiks
Phyllis Rosen and Gordon Salganik were married on August 22, 1948 at the Park Plaza, Baltimore, by Rabbis Miller and Shusterman.
The couple met at the University of Maryland, when Gordon tried to ask out one AEPhi member only to learn she was unavailable; instead, he asked Phyllis, “the pretty girl who answered the door. . . [but] Phyllis wasn't a happy camper when a few hours later she was asked to get into the car filled with six guys and had to sit on Gordon’s lap.”
Nonetheless Gordon persevered (the next date was only the two of them), and four months later they were engaged.
Conveniently, Phyllis’s cousin Sallie Newton, author of “How to Plan a Beautiful Wedding,,” had already given her a copy, inscribed “…waiting for the day when this little Book will be of use to you.”
Phyllis and Gordon Salganik in their formal wedding portrait. Photo by David Goldberg.
From photo album loaned by Wendy Salganik Davis and Debby Salganik Hellman. L2016.19.1
Wedding gown worn by Phyllis Rosen Salganik, 1948. Purchased at Schleisner’s, Baltimore.
A floor-length satin skirt, supported by a hooped petticoat, with a moderate train; the lace-overlay bodice has a sweetheart neckline filled in with a chiffon fichu.
Gift of Wendy Salganik Davis and Debby Salganik Hellman. JMM 2016.34.2
Headdress, 1973. Phyllis’s daughter Wendy Salganik wore her mother’s dress when she married Bob Davis in 1973; she kept the gown intact, but remade her mother’s lace headdress into the version shown here.
Gift of Wendy and Bob Davis. JMM 2016.34.3
“How to Plan a Beautiful Wedding,” by Sallie Newton, 1946.
This useful booklet provided brides with guidance for planning their event – including specifics for Catholic, Reform Jewish, and Orthodox Jewish ceremonies – with detailed timelines for the bride and groom.
Phyllis Rosen made careful notes on such details as her chosen stationer, musician, florist, and photographer; checked off each required task; and kept track of her gifts.
On loan from Wendy Salganik Davis and Debby Salganik Hellman. JMM L2016.19.6
Formal portrait of Wendy Salganik Davis, 1973.
From wedding album loaned by Wendy and Bob Davis. JMM L2016.19.2