ducted, and a short review is here given under the
penalty of its being not within the scope of the Complete Bachelor.

Weddings in society are celebrated either at church or at the home of
the bride. The church wedding is the most popular, and in large cities
the most fashionable, as it admits of the presence of a large number of
people and lends much solemnity to the occasion.

The fashionable hour for a wedding is from high noon--midday--until five
o'clock. Evening weddings have within the past five years not been as
much in vogue as formerly.

The invitations are issued within a fortnight of the ceremony. The
formula is an announcement engraved on a sheet of heavy cream paper
folded in two. It is issued in the name of the bride's parents or
guardian, and it requests the pleasure of the guest's presence at the
marriage of their daughter or ward at such a church or such a number, at
such an hour of the day, month, and year. A separate card, inclosed,
with the announcement and invitation to the church, states the hours of
the reception. The invitations are very simple, engraved in plain
English script, and the paper and cards are of a standard quality known
to stationers for this purpose. The inner one is addressed only with the
name of the person invited, the outer one has this and the street, the
street number, and full directions for mailing. Gilt-edged or fancy
stationery is vulgar.

I herewith append some examples. The English invariably insist on the
R. S. V. P., or "answer if you please," on even church invitations. This
is not the regular New York custom.

The reason for this is that in England those asked to the church are
always expected also at the reception. Only the bridal party sit down to
an elaborate breakfast, the other guests being given the very lightest
of refreshments.

American form:

_Mr. and Mrs._ ----
_request your presence_
_at the marriage of their daughter_
_Katherine_
_to_
_Mr._ ----,
_Thursday, February the twenty-eighth,_
_at twelve o'clock._
_Grace Church,_
_Broadway and Tenth Street._

Also:

_Mr. and Mrs._ ----
_request the honor of your presence_
_at the marriage of their daughter_
_Annie_
_to_
_Mr._ ----
_on_ (etc.).

_Mr. and Mrs._ ----
_reque