Wedding announcements

[Michael Comer]

A colleague of mine is looking for information on 1850-1860's wedding announcements for an exhibit/special event.

Does anyone have any originals that could post photos or have a good lead on where to find documentation? She is wanting to know about the wording of such announcements, fonts used, etc. She has found material on later Victorian announcements but is specifically looking for something more mid-19th century.

Much obliged for any help.

[Michael Comer]

Re: Wedding announcements

Nobody has anything on this? With the amount of knowledge on this forum, I thought that I would be inundated with info.

My colleague is needing either a good invitation to copy or the proper verbage and description to make a decent facsimile for an exhibit/handout at her historic site. I thought there might be such a thing since I have seen some pretty fancy announcements for other events such as dances etc. I would think a wedding would make for some very fancy announcements.

Any and all assistance appreciated.

[markj]

Re: Wedding announcements

Hi Mike,

One thing I've noted is that it wasn't unusual for couples to get married on very short notice. The "invitations" may simply have been word of mouth and a public notice in the local paper. From what I've seen here in the Midwest, marriages were about as likely to be conducted in a friend or relative's home as they were in a church. A perfect example of this is the marriage of Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd in November 1842 who were married on only a days' notice. I'm no expert in 19th Century weddings but I get the decided impression that, except for the well-to-do, they were frequently less fussy than we see today.

I did find an 1892 wedding invitation on eBay if that helps any:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2225888161&category=125

You might also find some interesting things about wedding practices here:

http://www.victoriana.com/bridal/bridal-welcome.htm

(Look under "Study Center")

Regards,

Mark Jaeger

[Michael Comer]

Re: Wedding announcements

You make a good point about notices given especially since this is in a rural area along the Missouri River in central Missouri.

She has found several examples of later 19th century announcements but she was wanting to narrow it down to the period we usually deal with. I'll check with her and see just what social status wedding she is dealing with. That would definitely have a bearing on what was issued.

Thanks for the reply.

[KKS]

Re: Wedding announcements

Wedding invitations are mentioned on pages 259-60 of "The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, Fashion, and Manual of Politeness" by Florence Hartley, published in 1860 and reprinted by Amazon Drygoods. There are a few very short forms for wording the invitations and hints on packaging them. If you are not able to find the book, I can email or post the passage.

Kira Sanscrainte

[Michael Comer]

Re: Wedding announcements

That sounds like a good start. If you could post the passage I would much appreciate it.

[KKS]

From "The Ladies' Book..."

The brackets are my comments, for what they are worth, particularly since the format of the invitation will not show correctly.

[pg 259]
"Take, first, the weddings at church. In this case none are invited to the ceremony excepting the family, and the reception is at the house of the bride's mother, or nearest relative, either on the wedding-day or upon her return from the bridal tour.

In sending out the invitations, let the card of the bridegroom and that of the bride [visiting cards?] be tied together with a white ribbon, and folded in the note paper upon which is printed the name of the bride's mother, with the date of the reception-day, thus:-
[indent once] MRS. JOHN SAUNDERS.
[indent twice] At home, Thursday, Oct. 16th,
[align right] from 11 till 2.
[align left] No. 218, ___st.

[pg 260]
of course the hours and dates vary, but the form is the same.

If there is no bridal reception upon the wedding-day, the cards are worded:-
[indent once] MR. AND MRS. JAMES SMITH.
[indent twice] At home, Wednesdays,
[indent thrice] On, and after, June 6th.
[align left] No. 17, ___st.

Tie the card with the bride's maiden name upon it to this one.

Enclose the invitation in a white envelope, and tie it with white satin ribbon. If you send cake, have it put in a white box, and place the note outside the cover, tying it fast with white satin ribbon."

Hope this helps!
Kira Sanscrainte

[Michael Comer]

Re: Wedding announcements

Kira,

Much obliged indeed! I will pass the info on.

[ElizabethClark]

Re: Wedding announcements

I think the key is that today we have a vast wedding industry that just didn't exist in the same for mid-century.

Everything I've come across in advice manuals and columns cautions the bride to be modest and circumspect; that close family and friends may be invited by private note (not engraved invitation); that ostentation is to be avoided, etc.

Of course, that people were cautioned *against* ostentation probably means that it happened anyhow. LOL

From what I understand, though, big "church" weddings weren't so popular--it might only be close family at the service, with a reception following the honeymoon trip, or just a big party afterward. A lot is going to depend on what economic class you're working with.

There was a good article on weddings (with diagrams of the reception goodie tables) in Citizen's Companion a few years ago; an index and back issues are available from the publisher at http://www.campchase.com (Camp Chase Publishing, if I messed up the link).

If she's just wanting a period feel to a modern invite, stick with a "Copperplate" sort of script, in a simple style, on good white stock. Can't go wrong with simplicity!