This photograph shows officers forming an arch of swords during a January 1943 naval wedding in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

On their way out of St. Matthew's Church on Barrington Street in downtown Halifax, Hammie McClymont and Zoe Cook pass under the arch formed by swords held with the cutting edge facing upward. While observed here by the navy, the custom is associated with all military weddings involving a commissioned officer.

George Metcalf Archival Collection
CWM 19800567-001_11e