THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 29, 1994 TAG: 9406280103
SECTION: VIRGINIA BEACH BEACON PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Mary Reid Barrow
DATELINE: 940629 LENGTH: Long
``Dearly Beloved: Victorian Courtship and Romance,'' a new exhibit at the museum at 240 W. Freemason St. in Norfolk, highlights many wedding customs and fashions from the late 19th century. Some are very much a part of the modern marriage ceremony and others are clearly alien.
{REST} For example the tradition of the June bride goes back to Victorian times. June was considered the luckiest month to marry, said Margaret Elinsky, Hunter House director. Oddly, however Saturday was thought to be an unlucky day for a wedding, and Wednesdays the best day of the week.
``The 12 noon hour was an absolute necessity if it was desired `to ensure the sobriety of the bridegroom,' '' Elinksy said, quoting from a Victorian etiquette book.
As Elinsky or other Hunter House interpreters discuss Victorian wedding etiquette and superstitions, they take visitors on a tour of the museum, especially bedecked for a 19th century home wedding. The parlor is decorated for the ceremony itself, and the dining room, for a reception. The bedrooms upstairs feature wedding gowns and trousseau items.
Baskets of white flowers flank a white trellis which serves as background for the wedding ceremony in the parlor. Weddings often were held at home in the 19th century, Elinsky explained.
Then as now, white was the traditional color for the wedding dress and flowers. Because they also were white, pearls were considered appropriate wedding jewelry. White symbolized innocence and white roses symbolized true love, she added.
Three trailing pieces of ivy for fidelity were often used in bridal bouquets. The number three was significant because it represented man, woman and child, said Elinksy.
In her research, Elinksy could find no mention of the bride's throwing her bouquet to her bridesmaids in Victorian times.
She thinks the custom arose from another Victorian tradition in which the bride's bouquet was often made up of several smaller bouquets, one of which was given to each bridesmaid after the reception.
Wedding receptions, known as wedding breakfasts, featured ``perpendicular refreshments,'' Elinsky said, which referred to food and drink that could be eaten while standing. A bottle of champagne, a wedding cake and pieces of the bride's cake wrapped up as favors for the guests are part of the decorations in the Hunter House dining room.
Ice cream, a decidedly non-perpendicular refreshment, it would seem, was always a traditional part of the Victorian reception, too. Lizzie and James Hunter, who built the Hunter House as their home in 1894, were married in July, 1877, in Norfolk and served orange ice at their wedding.
``We have a bill from the dairy for the orange ice,'' Elinksy said.
Perhaps preparing the wedding trousseau - from clothing to pillow cases - was even more important than planning the ceremony and reception. It was certainly more work for the bride.
``Traditionally, a trousseau meant a dozen of everything - linens, underpinnings, stockings and the like,'' Elinsky explained.
Napkins, pillow cases, handkerchiefs and other linens were all hand embroidered, initialed or embellished with handmade lace. Often the bride chose a flower for life and would use that in all her handiwork. On top of the practical items, the bride usually would create a special bridal quilt.
``Sometimes a bride had to cancel her wedding date because her trousseau wasn't complete,'' Elinsky said.
The honeymoon outfit or going-away suit was an important part of the trousseau. It was not only worn as a going-away suit, but also on the first Sunday after the couple returned from their trip.
``That was known as `coming out Sunday,' '' Elinsky said, ``when the bride and groom came to church and she wore her honeymoon outfit.''
Incidentally, brides were ``advised to prepare only for the first season,'' Elinsky said. This way her husband would not be lulled into thinking that he did not have to finance her clothing in the future.
Preparing a trousseau is not an important tradition for modern brides. Most young women are working and don't even know how to sew, much less embroider. In the 19th century, however, preparing a trousseau was part of a woman's calling in life.
``Getting married was a really big deal for a bride,'' Elinksy said. ``She had been preparing for this all her life, to be attractive to a man and to become a wife and mother.''
Dearly Beloved will be on exhibit through July 24. Tours, beginning on the hour and half hour, are offered from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and from noon until 3:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $3 for adults, $2 for senior citizens and $1 for children. Call 623-9814.
P.S. ``Liberty and Independence: A Timeless Celebration'' will take place from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday at historic Francis Land House, 3131 Virginia Beach Blvd. The Company of Historical Musicians will call you ``to arms,'' and the Wappadoodle Puppets will present ``Punch and Judy.'' The Spellbound Ponies and Petting Zoo and Colonial games are among the other activities. Admission is $2.50 for adults and $1 for students, ages 6 to 18.
by CNB