Friday, March 27, 2009

A Glimpse of the Past II

 

Today's second piece is on The Informal Wedding
"The wedding should be in keeping with the circumstances of the bride's parents. Informal weddings are usually home weddings. Their simplicity and friendliness make them charming affairs, if they are well arranged. Since the guest list is necessarily smaller, they are more private than church weddings. Decorations for the home wedding may be lavish or simple. A temporary altar or a flower-banked corner of a large room makes an attractive setting for the ceremony. A harp, organ, piano or even a phonograph with special records may provide appropriate background music. If the bride's parents have a beautiful lawn or garden, the wedding may be solemnized out-of-doors. Simple weddings may, of course, be held in a church, in one of the rooms of the church or in the clergyman's study or home. In such weddings, the decorations, if any, are simple and the wedding party small. It is improper to hold the wedding at the bridegroom's home. If the bride is without parents or near relatives, the marriage should take place in a church or rectory-although the reception may be held in the bridegroom's home."