ANNOUNCING A WEDDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18772, 28 July 1924, Page 5

ANNOUNCING A WEDDING.

Sir,—A very casual perusal of tha "Births, Marriages, and Deaths" columns throughout our New Zealand press, will disclose what appears to me to be a very strange custom which has crept into this little country of ours. A birth or a death will be announced at once, but a marriage, with few exceptions, is not announced till at least two months after the event. Now, why is this ? I have sought an explanation from many of my friends in vain, and to-day I asked the mother of a recent bride why her announcement was so delayed. To my astonishment she told me that it was "very bad form to announce a wedding for at least six weieks!" She could give me no reason as to why this was so—so will you allow me to ask your readers when this idea of "good form" came into vogue here, and what is the reason for it? Surely it cannot be considered "good form" for a couple to live together as man and wife for at least six weeks before announcing to the world that they had the sanction either of the Church or the State? I have travelled in most countries of the world with the exception of the United States, but I never heard of such an idea anywhere else. A Perplexed Englishman.