The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing | Page 5

friends and the men who are to act as ushers at the marriage ceremony. The ushers are generally recruited from the friends of the groom rather than those of the bride, but if she has a grown brother he is always asked to act in this capacity. Ushers, like bridesmaids, are chosen among the unmarried friends of the young couple, although a matron of honor is often included in the bridal party.
The Bride's Trousseau.
The bride's trousseau should be finished well before the fortnight preceding the wedding. Fashions change so quickly now that it is rarely advisable for a bride to provide gowns for more than a season ahead. If the check her father furnishes her for her trousseau is a generous one it is a wise provision to put a part of it aside for later use, and in so doing she has the equivalent of a wardrobe that will last her for a year or more.
Custom has decreed that the bride's wedding dress shall be of pure white, and, as the marriage ceremony is a religious one, whether it takes place in a church or in a private house, that it shall be made high in the neck and with long sleeves. Orange blossoms, the natural flowers, form the trimming to the corsage and a coronet to fasten the veil. A bride's ornaments include only one gift of white jewelry, pearls or diamonds, from her future husband, and the bouquet he presents her.
So many awkward moments have been occasioned in wedding ceremonies by removing the glove that brides are dispensing with wearing gloves at this time. The bride's appearance is by no means affected by this custom, and the slipping of the ring on the third finger of the left hand is made simpler and thereby more graceful. The engagement ring, which up to the time of the wedding ceremony has been worn on this finger, afterwards serves as a guard for the wedding ring.
The Bridesmaids.
Millinery is a most important question in discussing a wedding, and we cannot dismiss the question with the gown worn by the bride. A most serious consideration is what the bridesmaids are to wear, and this is generally only settled after long and serious consultation with the bride.
It is generally agreed that all of these gowns shall be made by the same dressmaker so that they may conform to the colors and styles decided on, the gown of the maid or matron of honor differing slightly from the general scheme. At a church wedding bridesmaids wear hats and carry baskets or bouquets of flowers, but, if bouquets are carried, they should be quite unlike the one borne by the bride. It is customary for the bride to give her bridesmaids some souvenir of the occasion, and it is expected that the groom provide the gloves and ties for the ushers.
Duties of the "Best Man."
The duties of the "best man" are arduous, and it is indeed wise, as it is general, for a man to ask his best and most devoted friend to serve in this capacity. The best man is supposed to relieve the groom of all the details of the ceremony and to take on his shoulders all the worry incident to its success as a social function. It is he who purchases the gloves and ties for the other ushers and sees that they are coached in their duties; he procures the marriage license, if that is necessary, and has the ring ready for the groom at the critical moment. After the ceremony he is supposed to hand the clergyman his fee, and at the same time be in readiness to conduct the line of bridesmaids and ushers to their carriages. He must be at the bride's home, in case there is a wedding reception, before the principal actors in the ceremony are there. It is he who sends the notices of the event to the newspapers, and, if there is a formal breakfast with speech-making, it is the best man who proposes the health of the newly-married pair and replies to the toast in behalf of the bridesmaids. He is the one member of the wedding party who sees the happy couple off at the station and bids them the last farewell as they depart on their honeymoon. This is perhaps the time and moment when his good sense and social tact is the most needed, The foolish custom of decorating bridal baggage with white ribbon, and of throwing a superabundance of old shoes and a rain of rice after the departing pair, may be mitigated by a little care on his part.

MOURNING CUSTOMS.
There has been of late years a healthy revolt against the excessive use of crepe or the wearing of mourning for an undue period. Mourning is first of