WEDDING ETIQUETTE

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 768, 14 September 1929, Page 25

WEDDING ETIQUETTE

(BY CONSTANCE RAINE) | Almost every week I receive a query about wedding etiquette, and •in this article 1 shall endeavour to give, briefly, details that will be of i assistance to all parties. The Licence.—Banns have to be j published in church for three. Sundays before the date of the marriage, | in the parish of both bride and bridc- | groom; or a licence may be obtained | which is given, a few days beforeI hand, to the vicar or clergyman who | performs the ceremony. Invitations. —The bride’s parents send out wedding invitations and receive acceptances or refusals. They provide the cars which take the bride, themselves and . all visitors staying in the house, to church. They also provide the wedding cake | and arrange for the entertainment of I guests at the reception. The Bridegroom’s Part. The bridegroom buys the wedding ring and gives each bridesmaid a present. He also presents bouquets to his I bride and her maids, instructs his best man to pay all fees and tips at the church, and provides the car in which he and his bride drive away after the ceremony. At The Church.—The bridegroom should arrive early at the church with his best man, the latter being in charge of the wedding ring. The two await the bride in a, seat close to the chancel. S % wards show the guests to their places. The relations i and friends of the bridegroom sit to ; the right of the aisle, and those of 1 the bride to the left. The bridesmaids precede the bride, ' awaiting her arrival in the porch of the church. When the bride arrives (with her father, or the relative who is to give her away) the bridesmaids follow after her up the church. The chief bridesmaid stands behind the ■ bride on her left, ready to relieve her ‘of bouquet and gloves. The bride i walks to the chancel on her father’s | right arm. The bridegroom takes j his place on the bride’s right, and his best man stands on his right. All near relations follow the pair to the vestry after the ceremony and there sign the register. The Reception.—The wedding presents are usually arrayed in the j bride’s house so as to be on view at I the reception. Each present should I bear the card of the donor tied with j white ribbon. It is the bride’s business to send a note of thanks to the giver of each present. The bride and bridegroom usually leave during the reception and no guest should take his or her departure before this event.