All day a regular army of florists bent their skill upon the decoration, transforming the Blue Room into a fitting marriage bower. Cartloads of blossoms, vines, ferns, and palms, with flags and shaded lights, turned all of the state apartments into a fairyland of flowers, to form a proper setting for the loveliest bride and the youngest mistress the White House has ever known.
The Blue Room was especially lovely. The mellow light of the tapers in the great candle stands, five feet high, a gift to President Jackson, added to the beauty of the scene. The mantels were banked with flowers. On one the date was outlined in pansies; on the other, the letters “F. C.,” in white and pink roses.
Miss Folsom had originally planned that at her wedding, her grandfather, of Folsomdale, whom she called “Papa John,” was to be present and give her away. His death while she was crossing the Atlantic upset these arrangements, so with the first strains of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” the President and his girlish bride came down the stairs unattended even by her mother.
The bride’s gown was of absorbing interest. It was of rich corded ivory satin trimmed with soft folds of India silk edged with orange buds and blossoms. The same material was draped to form an overskirt, also edged with the dainty blossoms, which were artistically arranged over the entire costume. The four-yard train she managed as perfectly as if she had always worn it. A coronet of the bridal flowers held the soft silk tulle veil in place. More than five yards in length, it fell gracefully over the entire train. Long gloves met the short sleeves. A diamond necklace, the President’s gift, and her sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, were her only jewels.
The bridal couple took their places facing the Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Byron Sunderland, who performed the marriage ceremony, and the Reverend William Cleveland, brother of the bridegroom, who concluded the ceremony with the blessing. Immediately from the navy yard came the presidential salute of twenty-one guns, announcing the news to the city, and all of the church bells rang a marriage chime.
An informal reception and collation followed, during which came many messages of congratulation, among them one from Queen Victoria. The decorations of the dining room were beautiful beyond description. The great mirror purchased for the mansion by Dolly Madison and used by every President since made a realistic sea for the full-rigged ship Hymen, constructed of pansies and pink roses, with the national colours on the mainmast and tiny white flags with “C. F.” on the other masts.
The guests included the Cabinet, the relatives, and the close personal friends. About eight o’clock, the bridal couple were ready for the departure. The President had replaced the conventional evening clothes with his customary black business suit, and “Mrs. Cleveland,” as everyone delighted in addressing her, was fully as beautiful as in her wedding gown. They left the rear door of the mansion in a shower of rice, old shoes, and good wishes, and were driven to the Baltimore and Ohio Station. Here a special train awaited to take them to Deer Park, Maryland, where the President hoped to rest and do some fishing. They had expected to spend a quiet time away from the curious public, but, to their dismay, the following morning they found a pavilion had been built overnight directly opposite their cottage and was thronged with newspaper correspondents and photographers.
Hopes of seclusion vanished with the rush of summer visitors to Deer Park and the arrival of a Church Convention. They went trout fishing, Mrs. Cleveland being initiated in the proper methods of baiting her own hook, and the President settled down on a comfortable log to enjoy his favourite sport. But even the remote woods were invaded by the visitors eager to get a glimpse of the distinguished pair. Mrs. Cleveland let her husband fish alone the next day or so, and finally, on June 9th, when more summer visitors arrived to enjoy the unusual pleasure of a President of the United States for a neighbour, President and Mrs. Cleveland decided that national business was urgent, and they returned to Washington.
On their return from Deer Park, the President and Mrs. Cleveland gave an evening reception to a large group. This was Mrs. Cleveland’s introduction to official and social Washington as the First Lady of the Land. In her wedding gown, she was especially lovely, and her natural charm, poise, and sweet cordiality established her popularity. It was conceded that, of all the many splendid things that President Cleveland had done, there was none that could do so well for him as his marriage.
The prolific use of Mrs. Cleveland’s pictures by patent medicine, perfume, candy, and underwear manufacturers, and firms of all kinds in advertising their wares called forth a well-intentioned protest that finally found expression in a bill being introduced in the House of Representatives on March 6, 1888, which read in part: