‘From this Day Forward’

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 66, Issue 3, 15 March 1943, Page 183

‘From this Day Forward’

“To have and to hold from this day forward, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part”

IT is you, Easter Bride, whose turn it will be very shortly now to say those precious words at the altar. So many times before no doubt you have been present in the church, and heard those all-important words said by your friends. But now it is your turn, and what a collection of things you seem to have ahead of you before that happy day arrives. At a time like this there is so much to do and to think of —a trousseau to be planned and collected, a future home to be considered, furniture chosen perhaps, and more than likely you have to cram all these important details in with your ordinary, everyday tasks. One thing I do want to say to you, no matter how many things you have to do, please be very sure to look after yourself in these pre-wedding days, go to bed early and get a sufficient amount of sleep, take a certain amount of exercise every day, look after yourself and your complexion, so that when THE day dawns you will look as fresh as a summer rose, and all your friends will say of you: “How very beautiful she looked.” It is worth leaving quite a few things undone to have that compliment paid to you on your wedding day, and anyway you will, find that your , friends are only too happy to lend you a helping hand in order that you may accomplish all you have set out to do before the wedding bells ring for you. What are you going to wear? As usual, and despite wartime conditions and rationing, the desire of every girl is to have a white wedding, and I do hope that you can manage this. Even if it means going without other things, do make an effort to be a white bride. It is the one day in your life that is going to be remembered above all others,' and even if your wedding is going to be very quiet, and simple, you will be glad later that your frock was of gleaming white satin instead of perhaps a more useful but not so romantic two-piece suit. . / Choosing your bridesmaids also requires careful thought. If the wed-

ding is a small one, then one bridesmaid will be sufficient, and it is usual for the bride to ask her sister or perhaps one of her closest girl friends to perform the duties of bridesmaid. A bride will be grateful on the day if her bridesmaid is a girl with plenty of commonsense, and one who does , not lose her head, for there are so many things that the bride wants done at the last minute, and it is essential that the bridesmaid does not get flustered. The bridesmaids arrive at the church usually about 10 minutes before the bride, and it is the chief bridesmaid who holds the bride’s bouquet during the ceremony. The question of flowers is one that must be carefully considered. Choose flowers that will tone in with the colour and style of frocks that are being worn, don’t have the bouquets too large, and don’t forget, Bride, to have a few “Trial spins” as it were in

front of your mirror when you are quite ready, so that you see just which way to hold your flowers to best advantage. Do you remember the oldfashioned custom of the bride throwing her bouquet as she left for her honeymoon, the story being that the girl who -caught it would be the next bride? Surely a romantic custom, and yet I remember the pleasure that one bride gave to an elderly lady friend, who was ill in hospital at the time of the wedding— bride herself took the bouquet to the hospital and gave it to her friend. The bridegroom pays for the wedding flowers, and do not forget to order a posy or spray for the mothers of the bride and groom. It is usual for the taxi to collect the flowers from the florist on the way up to the home of the bride. This ensures that they arrive fresh and in perfect condition. If you find it impossible to have a piece of real orange blossom in your wedding bouquet, then be very sure that you have a piece in the wreath that keeps your veil in place. For remember the old saying that goes, “Where the orange trees grow, there is Paradise.” The bridegroom as his right hand has the best , man, and of course there are also groomsmen if the bride has more than one maid. The bridegroom

usually pays for the flowers, the taxis, and also it is usual for him to give a gift to his bride on her wedding day, in addition to gifts for the bridesmaids. I think the success or otherwise of a wedding, particularly . the breakfast, depends upon the best man. He must be very reliable, for to him is entrusted the keeping of the ring until it is pro-

duced during the service. The best man usually officiates at the wedding breakfast in announcing the toast, reading the telegrams, etc. Also it is his duty to assist the bridegroom in the many details relating to the wedding service, such as arranging for the taxis, paying any church fees, and in arranging tickets, etc., for the honeymoon.

Are you wondering whether to have photographs? I say “Yes.” Photo--4 graphs will always serve as a very tangible memory of this happy day. It is usual for the photos to be taken after the ceremony and before the reception. But if. you adopt this course, please make sure that your guests, waiting for, you at ' the reception, are provided with some form of v entertainment, such as a few vocal or musical items, because nothing spoils the enjoyment of the guests so much as a long wait' after they arrive at the place where the reception is to be held before, the bridal party arrives. The parents of the bride receive the ' guests at the reception, the bride and bridegroom being nearby to receive the congratulations of their friends and relations. ■■■. . . . After the breakfast, the happy couple usually change for the wedding trip, the bridesmaids assisting in . this, and then they depart on the honeymoon, after being farewelled by their friends, who usually resort to playing a few practical- jokes on the happy couple at this stage. Beware, Brides, of tins that rattle tied on the back of the taxi, or notices proclaiming that you are “Newly-weds.” Talking, too, of practical jokes, I am reminded of some friends of mine who on arrival at the hotel where they were to spend their first night after the wedding found that they had no key to one of their suitcases. However, they retired to bed, and were at first astonished . and. later dismayed to find that the suitcase contained several alarm clocks, all set to go off at different hours during the night! “From this day forward'. . .” Now you are setting out on the most romantic and yet the greatest adventure of your life. If you keep always in the front of your mind those words you repeated at the marriage service, and strive to live up to them in every way, then . your love will endure forever, and your marriage will have the true fairy tale ending “And they lived happily ever after.” “And do you know, it is a splendid thing to thinx that the woman you. really love will never grow old to you. Through the wrinkles of time, through the mask of years, if you really love her, you will always see the face you loved and won. And a woman who really loves a man does not see that he grows old; he is not decrepit to her; he does not tremble; he is not old; she always sees the same gallant gentleman who won her hand and heart. I like to think of it in that way; I like to think that love is eternal. And to love in that way and then 'go down the hill of life together, and as you go down, hear, perhaps, the laughter of grandchildren, while the birds of joy and love sing once more in the leafless branches of the. tree of age.” G. Ingersoll. ’ ‘

Prayer for a Bride’s House She is so young, dear Lord, so very young, She is so wide-eyed and naively sweet, She does not dream of great rooms, draped and hung With master paintings, rugs where some queen’s feet Have lightly trod. She dreams of this instead: A small, new house with freshly painted floors, With hand-stitched curtains, and above her head Bright dishes gleaming through wee cupboard doors. She’ll learn, some day, the value of old 1 things, ■ When eagerness is stiff, and she is wise— Knowing the disillutionment time brings— But now there’s so much springtime in ' her eyes, And this is her first house—er You .; -■ do, ■' Let everything about it, Lord, be new!

This' Is -Friendship I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you. I love you, not only for what you have made of yourself, but for what you are making of me. I love you for the part of me that you bring out. ; I love you for putting your hand into my heaped-up heart, and passing over all the frivolities and weak things that you cannot help seeing there, and drawing out into the light all the beautiful, radiant things that no one else has looked quite far enough to find. I love you for ignoring the possibilities of the fool, in me, and for laying firm hold of the possibilities of good in me. I dove you for closing your eyes to the discords in, me, and . for adding to the music in me by worshipful listening. , L , I love you because you are helping me to make of the lumber of my life not a tavern but a temple, and of the words of my days not a reproach” but a song. I love you because you have done more than any creed could have done to make me happy. ' You have done it without a touch, without a word, without a sign. You have done it by being yourself. After all, perhaps this is what , being a friend means.