he wedding cards, and this occurs when the wedding ceremony is
performed quietly in church and the reception, for some reason, is
held at the home of the groom's parents, in which case they, as the
entertainers, properly pay for, and issue, the cards of invitation.

The groom, in England, always pays for the carriage that conveys
himself and bride to the station after the ceremony and reception are
past, but in this country the fashionable father usually claims the
privilege of sending them on this first stage of their married life in
his own carriage. However, the groom buys the ring and a bouquet for
the bride, furnishes dainty presents for the bridemaids, remembers the
best man and the ushers, pays the clergyman's fee, the size of which
is to be regulated only by his inclination, or the length of his
purse-strings, and furnishes the marriage license.

Naming the Day.

This privilege belongs by right to the lady herself, but, in reality,
the business engagements of the groom, and the time when he can best
leave for the bridal tour have much to do in settling the exact date
for which the invitations shall be issued. In very fashionable circles
it is the mother that names the day of her daughter's marriage.

Time was when during the two weeks, or longer, elapsing between the
issuing of the invitations and the occurrence of the wedding, the
bride-expectant was not to be seen in public, nor by chance callers at
the house, a custom which still prevails to some extent, but is
superseded in the most fashionable circles by a series of especial
entertainments given during this interval.

It frequently happens that one, or each, of the bridemaids entertains
the bride and other bridemaids at a lunch or dinner, either informally
or on a large scale. Some married friend of the family may give a
large farewell dinner to Miss ---- and her bridemaids; and the bride
herself, or her mother, may give a rehearsal dinner. Ordinary
invitations, however, are not to be accepted.

If the presents are not to be exhibited at the wedding reception, the
bride frequently gives an informal tea the day before to her lady
friends for the purpose of displaying them. She should also, for her
health's sake, take a daily drive.

Announcing the Engagement.

An engagement is now frequently announced in rather a formal manner.
This, however, is not usually done until a short time previous to the
marriage itself. Sometimes it comes out in the so