all her time
to him.

At this period it is a wise man who makes a friend of a girl's mother,
and if he does this he will generally be repaid in a twofold manner. No
matter how willful a girl may be, her mother's opinion of her friends
always has weight with her.

Moreover, what the mother is the girl will in all probability become,
and a man has no better opportunity of learning a girl's mental and
moral qualities than by knowing the woman who bore and reared her.


Engagement and Wedding Rings.

The form and material of "the mystic ring of marriage" change but
little, and innovations on the plain gold band are rarely successful.
The very broad, flat band is now out of date and replaced by a much
narrower ring, sufficiently thick, however, to stand the usage of a
lifetime. It is generally engraved on the concealed side with the
initials of the giver and the date of the marriage. The gold in the ring
should be as pure as possible, and the color, which depends on the alloy
used, should be unobtrusive, the pale gold being better liked now than
the red gold. Many women never remove their wedding ring after it has
been put on and believe it is bad luck to do so.

There is but one choice for an engagement ring, a solitaire diamond, and
clusters or colored stones are not considered in this connection. As
after the wedding the engagement ring is used as a guard to the wedding
ring, it should be as handsome as possible, and a small, pure stone is a
far better choice than a more showy one that may be a little off in
color or possess a flaw.


Correct Form in Jewelry.

On the wedding day the groom often makes the bride a wedding present of
some piece of jewelry, and if this is to be worn during the ceremony it
should consist of white stones in a thin gold or platinum setting, such
as a pendant, bracelet or pin of pearls and diamonds. If a colored stone
is preferred--and a turquoise, for instance, adds the touch of blue
which is supposed to bring a bride good luck--it should be concealed
inside the dress during the services.

As a memento of the event a groom often presents his ushers with a scarf
pin or watch or cigarette case ornamented with the initials of the bride
and groom, and the bride generally makes a similar present to her
bridesmaids of some dainty piece of jewelry. Whether this takes the form
of a pin, bracelet or one of the novelties that up-to-date jewelers are
always showing, it should be the best of its kind. Imitation stones or
"silver gilt" have no place as wedding gifts.


Wedding Customs.

There is no time in a woman's life when ceremonies seem so important as
when a wedding in the family is imminent. Whether the wedding is to be a
simple home ceremony or an elaborate church affair followed by a
reception, the formalities which etiquette prescribes for these
functions should be carefully studied and followed. Only by doing so can
there be the proper dignity, and above all the absence of confusion that
should mark the most important episode in the life of a man or woman.

Wedding customs have undergone some changes of late years, mostly in the
direction of simplicity. Meaningless display and ostentation should be
avoided, and, if a girl is marrying into a family much better endowed in
worldly goods than her own, she should have no false pride in insisting
on simple festivities and in preventing her family from incurring
expense that they cannot afford. The entire expenses of a wedding, with
the exception of the clergyman's fee and the carriage which takes the
bride and groom away for their honeymoon, are met by the bride's family,
and there is no worse impropriety than in allowing the groom to meet or
share any of these obligations. Rather than allow this a girl would show
more self-respect in choosing to do away with the social side of the
function and be content with the marriage ceremony read by her clergyman
under his own roof.


Invitations and Announcements.

In the case of a private wedding announcement cards should be mailed the
following day to all relatives and acquaintances of both the contracting
parties.

Evening weddings are no longer the custom, and the fashionable hour is
now high noon, although in many cases three o'clock in the afternoon is
the hour chosen. Whether the wedding is to be followed by a reception or
not, the invitations to it should be sent out not less than two weeks
before the event, and these should be promptly accepted or declined by
those receiving them. The acceptance of a wedding invitation by no means
implies that the recipient is obliged to give a present. These are only
expected of relatives and near friends of the bride and groom, and in
all cases the presents should be addressed and sent to the bride, who
should acknowledge them by a prettily worded note of thanks as soon as
the gifts are received or, at the latest, a few days after the marriage
ceremony.


Silver and Linen.

The usual rule followed in the engraving of silver or the marking of
linen is to use the initials of the bride's maiden name. The question of
duplicate gifts is as annoying to the sender as it is to the young
couple who are ultimately to enjoy the gifts. Theoretically, it is bad
form to exchange a gift after it has been received, but, in truth, this
is often done when a great deal of silver is given by close friends or
members of the family it is a comparatively easy matter to find out what
has already been sent and to learn the bride's wishes in this matter.


Prenuptial Functions.

After the wedding invitations are out it is not customary for a girl to
attend any social functions or to be much seen in public. This gives her
the necessary time to devote to the finishing of her trousseau and for
making any necessary arrangements for the new life she is to take up
after the honeymoon is over. Family dinners are quite proper at this
time, and it is expected of her to give a lunch to her bridesmaids. The
wedding presents may be shown at this occasion, but any more public and
general display of them is now rarely indulged in and is, in fact, not
considered in good taste.

The groom, as a prenuptial celebration, is supposed to give a supper to
his intimate bachelor friends and the men who are to act as ushers at
the marriage ceremony. The ushers are generally recruited from the
friends of the groom rather than those of the bride, but if she has a
grown brother he is always asked to act in this capacity. Ushers, like
bridesmaids, are chosen among the unmarried friends of the young couple,
although a matron of honor is often included in the bridal party.


The Bride's Trousseau.

The bride's trousseau should be finished well before the fortnight
preceding the wedding. Fashions change so quickly now that it is rarely
advisable for a bride to provide gowns for more than a season ahead. If
the check her father furnishes her for her trousseau is a generous one
it is a wise provision to put a part of it aside for later use, and in
so doing she has the equivalent of a wardrobe that will last her for a
year or more.

Custom has decreed that the bride's wedding dress shall be of pure
white, and, as the marriage ceremony is a religious one, whether it
takes place in a church or in a private house, that it shall be made
high in the neck and with long sleeves. Orange blossoms, the natural
flowers, form the trimming to the corsage and a coronet to fasten the
veil. A bride's ornaments include only one gift of white