Jane Austen (born 1775 died 1817) - social life/ customs of her era : WEDDINGS - Happy 250th!

 All weddings were morning events, 

since canon law decreed that they 

could be solemnized only between 

8 a.m. and noon -- a rule

that held until 1886.  Particular times of the year

(especially Lent) were traditionally avoided,

and Sundays could be a nuisance.  

The oldest customs, survivals from antiquity, 

were the wedding cake and the ring 

that was given to the bride 

during the ceremony. . .Some wives

never removed their wedding ring.  

"Many married women are so rigid, 

not to say superstitious, 

in their notions concerning

their wedding rings, that neither when they

wash their hands, nor at any other time,

will they take it off from their finger, 

extending the expression of 

Til Death Us Do Part even

to this golden circlet, the token and pledge of

matrimony!

After the event, a meal might be laid on; 

at a morning ceremony, a wedding breakfast 

was most common.  More elaborate celebrations 

could continue the whole day, perhaps with

a dinner and a supper, along with music,

dancing, games, and sports.  Then as now

the wedding cake was an important element

of the ceremony 

and was subsequently distributed to family 

and friends, something Jane

Austen herself mentioned writing to sister

Cassandra in 1808:

Do you recollect whether the 

Manydown_family send about 

their wedding cake?  Mrs.

Dundas has set her heart upon having a

piece from her friend Catherine, 

and Martha, who knows what importance 

she attaches to this sort of thing, 

is anxious for the sake of

both, that there should not be a disappointment!