Issue 17.10
Probably the most anticipated event in any young woman’s life is that day when she will meet her Prince Charming,fall in love,prepare for her wedding and its activities which can include:finding a date and place for the wedding,buying or making a wedding dress,selecting bridesmaids and their attire,making the guest list,designing-printing-mailing the announcements,scheduling a wedding brunch or dinner,catering and decorating for the reception or open house. Most of this work can be planned out by the bride years in advance as she dreams of her special day.
The groom needs to purchase or make the wedding rings,propose and hope she accepts,endure all the planning,changes and stresses associated with getting married,not forget the flowers,the wedding gift and the honeymoon plans. Forgotten are the days of asking the bride’s father for his permission for this big step in life.
There is a way to simplify all this,just elope. A justice of the peace married my parents secretly one night while they were supposed to be at a dance. After they were married that evening,they had a little waffle party with their friends then everyone returned to their separate homes as if nothing had happened. The purpose of keeping their wedding a secret was because my dad didn’t have a job at the time. They were both 18,high school graduates and living at home. They were able to keep their elopement a secret for about a month. Although my mom’s little sister suspected something was up when she discovered a new wedding band hidden under a plate in the china closet. Needless to say,my grandma was not happy when she found out her daughter had eloped. Grandma did make the best of it because she liked my dad. She gave an open house for the happy couple,and my mom moved in with her in-laws while my dad pursued some jobs on the railroad.
Some wedding traditions long forgotten are trousseaus and hope chests where the young woman gathered together items to use in her new home and to wear in her new role in society. She needed quilts,linens,pots and pans,dishes,china,silverware,etc. Nowadays young couples just register for all these items and hope to get them or exchange wedding gifts for other things they need and want.
