"Rice and slippers, slippers and rice!
Quaint old symbols of all that's nice
In a world made up of sugar and spice,
With a honeymoon always shining;
A world where the birds keep house by twos,
And the ring-dove calls, and the stock-dove coos,
And maids are many, and men may choose,
And never shall love go pining!"
If there were no weddings, there would be no art of entertaining. It
is the key-note, the initial letter, the "open sesame," of the great
business of society. Therefore certain general and very, perhaps,
unnecessary hints as to the conduct of weddings in all countries may
not be out of place here.
In London a wedding in high life--or, as the French call it,
"higlif"--is a very sweeping affair. If we were to read the
descriptions in the "Court Journal" of one wedding trousseau alone,
furnished to a royal princess, or to Lady Gertrude Somebody, we should
say with Fielding that "dress is the principal accomplishment of men
and women." As for the wedding-cake which is built at Gunter's, it is
a sight to see,--almost as big as Mont Blanc.
The importance of Gunter is assured by the "Epicure's Almanac,"
published in 1815; and for many years this firm supplied the royal
family. When George III. was king, the royal dukes stopped to eat
Gunter's pies, in gratitude for the sweet repasts furnished them in
childhood; but now the Buzzards, of 197 Oxford Street, also are
specialists in wedding-cakes.
Leigh Hunt, in one of his essays, described one Trumbull Walker as
"the artist who confined himself to that denomination," meaning
wedding-cake. His mantle fell on the Buzzards.
This enormous cake, and the equally enormous bouquet are the chief
distinctive marks in which a London wedding differs from ours. To be
legal, unless by special license, weddings in England must be
celebrated before twelve o'clock. The reason given for this law is
that before 1820 gentlemen were supposed to be drunk after that hour,
and not responsible for what they promised at the altar.
In France, a singular difference of dress on the part of the groom
exists. He always wears a dress-coat and white cravat, as do all his
ushers and immediate friends. It looks very strange to English and
American eyes.
How does a wedding begin? As for the premonitory symptoms, they are in
the air for several weeks. It is whispered about amongst the
bridesmaids; it gets into the papers. It would be easy to write a
volume, and it would be a useful volume if it brought conviction to
the hearts of the offenders, of the wrong done to young ladies by the
newspapers who assume, without authority, to publish the news of an
engagement. Many a match has been broken off by such a premature
surmise, and the happiness of one or more persons injured for life.
Young people like to approach this most important event of their lives
in a mutual confidence and secrecy; consequently society newspapers
should be very careful how they either report an engagement, or
declare that it is off. Sometimes rumors prejudicial to the gentleman
are circulated without sufficient reason, and of course much
ill-feeling is engendered.
The first intimation of an engagement should come from the bride's
mother, and the young bride fixes the day of her wedding herself. Then
the father and mother, or guardians, of the young lady issue cards,
naming the day and hour of the wedding.
Brides often give the attendant maidens their dresses; or if they do
not choose to do this, they suggest what they shall wear.
Six ushers generally precede the party into the church, after having
seated the guests. These are generally followed by six bridesmaids,
who walk two and two. No one wears a veil but the bride herself, who
enters on her father's arm. Widows who marry again must not wear
white, or veils. The fact that the bride is in white satin, and often
with low neck and short sleeves, and the groom in full morning
costume, is much criticised in France.
If the wedding occurs in the evening, the groom must wear a dress-coat
and white tie.