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The Bride's Book of Etiquette 1968

February 17, 2020 , Wedding

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The Bride’s Book of Etiquette 1968 was a little different than what a 2020 bride would follow. There were traditions like displaying your gifts in your home and inviting people to see them before the wedding and having specific placements for people in the receiving line that many brides no longer follow. Wedding Etiquette has changed. However, I do love the old-fashioned manners that brides were expected to have. I found an old copy of 1968 The Bride’s Book of Etiquette published by The Bride’s Magazine and was transported back 60 years…

Some of my favourite points include:

  1. When you become engaged: “Your new fiance should call on your father practically the moment you’ve said yes. Your father then may give official permission and blessing and discuss anything with your future husband that he sees fit.”
  2. Wedding Etiquette and Going out in public after your engagement: “Becoming engaged does not give you a special license to act unbecomingly in public. Billing and cooing and sticky affection show an unappealing lack of good manners and may cause a loss of friends. Very few men enjoy this sort of thing anyway. If you and your fiance are separated for long periods, you may attend social functions with friends, but you should avoid being attentive to other men or doing anything which may cause talk.”
  3. The bride’s family pays for the entire wedding: “You should be sure to choose a wedding size and style in which your parents can afford since it is they – not your fiance’s family – who bear the burden of the expense. Under no circumstances should the groom’s family be asked to assume expenses which are, by tradition, the responsibility of the bride. If his family is much wealthier than yours, they may give a large reception for you after you return from your honeymoon.”
  4. On inviting guests: The mother of the bride is considered the supreme host of the event. She is the one to invite people. “If you must telephone for your mother, you should always say ‘Mother wishes me to invite you, etc.’ so that the guests will know that your family is sanctioning your wedding.”
  5. The Older Bride: I was married at 32 and I’m assuming that I would have been considered an older bride in the 1960s. This would have been advice for me. “The bride whose girlhood is a thing of the past would temper her wedding plans accordingly. A mature woman usually looks foolish in an elaborate train and veil designed for a girl of twenty. Mature couples usually omit such frivolous touches as throwing the bouquet and garter.”
  6. Wedding Gifts and Wedding Etiquette: “If you receive many costly presents, you may want to hire a detective to guard them during the ceremony and other times with the house will be empty. Gift displays are often left intact for a week after the ceremony so friends and relatives can drop by to see them.”
The Bride's Book of Etiquette 1968
The Bride’s Book of Etiquette 1968

A gallery of some of our current weddings is on the website. The Bride’s Book of Etiquette 1968 was so much fun to read through and I actually found some fabulous points that I would love to see more of today.

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