Preparations for the wedding have to begin betimes. The church is chosen, and the hour settled with the vestry clerk. Shall the service be fully choral ? If so what hymns shall be sung, and has the bride any choice about the " Wedding March " ? Does she prefer Mendelssohn or Wagner ? All these details have to be settled.

Then comes the question of the printed cards or booklets to be placed in the pews for the use of the invited guests. These are sometimes very dainty and attractive, though very much ornament is out of place. Anything approaching the florid is now considered bad form; pretty type, however. may be chosen. The initials of bride and bridegroom, and the date, appear on the first leaf, and the name of the church is also given some prominence.

Before settling upon the music it is only civil to consult the organist of the church. It is also politic, for he may have some good suggestions to offer.

The fees for the choir are ascertained, and should an anthem be included in the service it is but fair that some extra payment should be made to the owners of the beautiful voices to be heard in it.

Some very special fees are occasionally paid in this way. At a wedding in the Brompton Oratory several years ago, a boy with an exquisite voice received 200 for singing a solo. Those who heard him can never forget how the music seemed to fall from above and fill with sweetness this immense building; the effect was thrilling.

Decorations

The floral decoration of the church is generally entrusted to the florist with whom the bride's family is accustomed to deal.

Usually the chancel is decorated with tali palms and bamboos, exotic plants clustering round and upon the great pots in which the palms are growing.

At one wedding a beautiful effect was obtained by placing tall white lilies along the chancel rails

Very elaborate floral decorations are seen at some weddings. Flowers are ranged down either side of the central aisle, and even round the font. The window-sills have been covered with moss and cut flowers. and, at one wedding, the pulpit was included in the scheme of decoration.

In this instance the pillars were wreathed with smilax, and from the galleries hung festoons of this invaluable ornamental " greenery " with roses tied to it at intervals.

Appropriate as flowers are at a wedding, there is a need for proportion. Marriage is a solemn sacrament. Flowers are appropriate to the joyful occasion, but when immoderately used they render the surroundings insignificant in comparison.

The Invitations

Invitations to a wedding are sent out in the joint names of the father and mother of the bride, should both be alive. If not, the surviving parent invites the guests. Should he or she have married again, the name of the second partner appears upon the invitations, though there is a slight difference in the wording. The following is the form of invitation on ordinary occasions, when both parents are alive:

Mr. and Mrs. Fitz-jones request the pleasure of company on the occasion of the marriage of their daughter

Helen Mary, with

Captain George Richard Smith, at St. George's, Hanover Square, on Saturday, November 27th, at 2.30 o'clock and afterwards at

The London Hotel,

Norfolk Avenue. R.s.v.p. to 900, Berkeley Grove, W.

The invitations should be sent out about three weeks before the date fixed for the wedding. Should anything occur to prevent the marriage being solemnised or the day-arranged, a notice of the alteration must be sent to everyone who had received an invitation, or an intimation of the change should appear in the " Morning Post."

Should, however, the delay be owing to serious illness, the family can scarcely be expected to send out notices. They may safely conclude that the news of this should have spread among their friends and acquaintances.

The bride's mother gives a number of her invitation cards to the bridegroom's family in order that they may invite their friends to the wedding. Sometimes this is done by giving a list of the names and addresses to the bride's mother. She then sends out the invitations with the rest.

The Presents

Though some presents may be received previous to the sending out of the invitations they are sure to come in almost immediately after in fuller numbers.

The bride is then kept busy writing notes of thanks. This is a duty she may not dele-gate to anyone and the letters should be written by return of post, if possible.

It has become very usual for several friends or relatives to join in giving a present. This is much to be encouraged, for it results in a handsome, useful, or highly ornamental gift instead of a number of small and possibly insignificant ones.

The presents have usually the card of the donor attached bearing the appropriate good wishes. This must be preserved with care and be placed in a prominent position when the wedding gifts are shown, either on the day of the marriage or immediately before it.

When the wedding reception is held at an hotel or in a hired gallery, there are difficulties in the way of displaying the presents.

In this case it has been found a good plan to have a full list of them and the donors printed on a very large card which stands on an easel in the reception room. More than one of these cards is necessary when the party is a large one.

Presents for the bridegroom are sent to his own address, but are afterwards removed to the bride's address and shown with hers on the day arranged. Great taste is shown sometimes in the disposal of the gifts - smilax and flowers in pretty vases are placed among them.

Occasionally one sees a very tasteless arrangement, but it is not at all an easy matter to make such a number of objects of different sizes and shapes look really well.

It is now customary for the bride to give a marriage present to the bridegroom. Among gifts of the kind have been a saddle, a dressing-bag or dressing-case, her own portrait, a set of waistcoat buttons, a dog-cart, harness, a ring with his crest engraved upon it, a gold or silver cigar or cigarette case, match-box, or despatch box, pocket-book, writing set, inkstand, etc.

The Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids may range in number from one to sixteen. The bride asks a chosen number of her girl friends to act in this capacity. It is a usual, but not invariable, custom to have one's own sisters. Those of the bridegroom, if of suitable age, must certainly be asked.

Sometimes it is a little awkward, when these ladies are between the ages, to know whether they expect to be asked to be bridesmaids or not.

The bride generally chooses the dresses ot the bridesmaids, though not always. Each girl pays for her own. The bridegroom gives a present to each and the bride gives one to her page or pages.

The Wedding Day

The bride's father pays for the wedding carriages, the bridegroom paying for the one in which he goes to the church and also for the one in which he and his bride go away together after the reception.

The bridesmaids assemble within the church door and await the bride. She drives there with her father or the relative who gives her away in his place. Her mother should arrive a few moments before them.

It is usual for the bride's family and friends to sit on the left of the aisle, the bridegroom's on the right. Young men of both families show the guests to their places.

The bridegroom with the best man await the bride at the altar. She stands at his left during the ceremony. This is indicative of her subjection to her husband. As a matter of fact, very few brides know this or they might feel unwilling to fall in with the time-honoured custom.

The best man stands on the bridegroom's right, rather behind him, and the bride's father occupies a similar position with regard to her, but on her left. Should she be carrying a bouquet, she hands it to her chief bridesmaid after the opening sentences of the service and removes the glove from her left hand. The best man has the ring ready at the proper moment and hands it to the bridegroom.

In The Vestry

It is usual for the host and hostess to invite a few of the principal guests to go into the vestry and perhaps to sign the register. The newly - married pair receive many congratulations during this necessary business. When it is over they are the first to leave the church even when Royalty is among those present.

Should any Royal person be in the church they leave it after the bride and bridegroom.

The immediate relatives walk down the aisle in the following order: the bride's mother with the bridegroom's father; the bridegroom's mother with the bride's father. The bride's mother is always the first to leave because she is hostess and wishes to get home quickly to receive her guests.

The house is decorated with white flowers on such occasions, and sometimes the happy couple stand under a bell of flowers or under a floral archway to receive the congratulations of their friends. These go immediately to the bride and bridegroom, express their good wishes, and then pass on to leave room for others.

Meanwhile, the hostess attends to her guests and the host escorts to the refreshment buffet the principal ladies who are present. The bride comes downstairs to cut the cake and soon after disappears to change her wedding gown for her travelling dress. The bridegroom also changes and they make the descent of the stairs, running the gauntlet of confetti or rose-leaves.

These have taken the place of the rice that used to be thrown.

The throwing of an old shoe for luck is an ancient usage. It is now a white satin slipper, which acts as a tell-tale when it lodges in some portion of the brougham or motor-car.