Elaborate weddings should always be rehearsed at least once beforehand. In arranging these rehearsals the bride must have in mind the convenience of her attendants, and by consulting them, should settle upon a time that will be agreeable for the majority. The requests for one's presence at a rehearsal may be made verbally or by notes. Refreshments are usually served afterward at the home of the bride.
She must arrange for the opening of the church, and she should provide a way for the young ladies who are at some distance to get there. The details of the ceremony should be practiced until the whole thing can be accomplished with ease and grace. Every possible effort must be made to eliminate a stilted and wooden effect on the actual day of the wedding.
REGARDING THE USHERS
At the rehearsal they should receive careful instructions (usually from the clergyman), as a large part of the smoothness and charm of the wedding ceremony depends upon their knowledge of the right thing to do at the right time.
On the day of the wedding, they must be at the church at least an hour before the scheduled time for the ceremony. It is part of their duty to welcome the guests and escort them to their seats. An old custom was for the usher to offer his right arm to a lady, and although it still prevails, a more accepted form is for him to welcome each guest with a smile, precede her down the aisle, and with a graceful indication, direct her to her place.
Front seats should always be reserved for the relatives and most intimate friends of both families. At most fashionable weddings, the names of the people to receive these front seats are tabulated on cards and given to the ushers. Another custom that is permissible is to mark off the number of seats in front that are to be reserved with a white ribbon, extending from aisle to aisle and terminating at the end seats with pretty bows or festoons. This manner of reserving seats for the "guests of honor" is not only effective, but is also decorative.
THE WEDDING DAY
June and October, because the weather is usually beautiful and flowers are more abundant than at other times, are the favorite months for brides, though there is not a single month out of the twelve that does not see its full quota of elaborate weddings. During Lent there are fewer than at any other time.
There is an old superstition which says that Friday is an unlucky day for a wedding, but the prejudice that rose from it has so largely been done away with that the only choice among the days of the week is that which rises from the bride's personal convenience and desire.
A wedding may take place at any hour of the day. Morning weddings are usually very simple. Elaborate ceremonies are usually performed at high noon or in the evening while the wedding that is neither very simple nor very elaborate (and this means most weddings) takes place in the afternoon. In a great many instances the hour has to be arranged with reference to the time the train on which the bride and groom expect to leave departs.