Page:Every Woman's Encyclopedia Volume 1.djvu/372

 MARRIAGE THE WEDDEKG BOUQUET The Bouquet of Summer Flowers— ** The Chosen Leaf of Bard and Chief — Flowers for ..., Wi^ow-Brides T T is the bridegroom's privilege, and usually bouquets to his bride, the bridesmaids, the bride's, mother, his own mother, and also buttonholes for the pages, if there are any. A certain amount of generous liberality is expected of happy bridegrooms. Parsi- mony, economy even, in his expenditure upon the wedding is considered inoppor- tune. The florist will not indicate the lowest-priced bouquets to begin with, but a little gentle management will succeed in indicating that moderate charges are pre- ferred. They are necessary in many cases. The bridegroom's "poverty, not his will, consents " to his providing the bride with something less exquisite and costly than he feels to be appropriate. And there are other bridegrooms, not always shallow- pursed, who choose the cheapest from mere habit — lifelong habit. The Bouquet of Summer Flowers The bridal bouquet, in the well-to-do classes, is usually made of choice exotics, and costs from one guinea to several. For the sum named a very pretty bouquet may be had, especially in sum- mer, when so many white flowers are plentiful. All must be white, the only colour permissible being that of the foliage of the various flowers. A lovely bouquet may be com- posed of roses, tulips — their wonderful grey- green, spear-like leaves only a little less beautiful than the snowy petals — carnations, and the in- dispensable sprig of white heather, supposed to bring good luck in the shape of married happi- Eess. In winter the bouquet is more expensive, though flowers are surprisingly cheap and plentiful in England (^ven when the snow is on the ground, so abundant are our floral "^^^ ^^^^'^'^^'^'^ '"■'«^e's bouquet is much smaller than! supplies from the .South of France and .the Scilly Isles. White violets, lily of the valley, snowdrops, narcissi, are all appro- priate to the bridal bouquet. Orchids are always costly. The days of the very large bridal bouquet are over. The tendency is to revert to the small round bouquet of the Victorian period, the flowers closely arranged and set into a bouquet-holder. This latter adds one more to the long list of appropriate wedding gifts.* The huge bouquet with which brides in the end of last and the beginning of the present century were burdened was not at all a graceful adjunct, for several reasons. Its bulk obscured the outline of the figure. It interfered with the pretty folds of the wedding-veil. It hid the front of the gown, often very charmingly trimmed with lace or embroidery, and its weight tired the arm of the bride, already quite tired enough with the arduous work of the pre- vious weeks in connection with the trousseau, the correspondence with regard to presents, and the other preparations. Some of the smartest bouquets are merely sheaves of long-stalked flowers, such as lilies, roses, carnations, gladioli, and sweet peas, all white, of course. "The Chosen Leaf of Bard and Chief" Another form is the shower, a light and delicate arrangement, carried with ease, and sometimes provided with a loop by means of which it can be slung on either wrist, leaving the hands free. Strands of smilax hang from the flowers, and white blossoms are tied in amidst the greenery. Sometimes long sprays of small-leaved golden-green brown ivy form the light cascade of these sho wer-bouq nets. They are always tied with white satin ribbon it was in former times See article : Wedding Presents i t
 * his happiness, to present the wedding