Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1886-12-08
COST OF MARRYING.
Etatistics In response 20 an In
quiry by q Prospective Bride.
I'll" Toiai for Modest PROTESTANT ,Church
Wedding Set Down at seventy-FTve
-EpiseopaIlan, Catholic, lie
br, ~ Ind Other wedd.nEs.


EpIseopaIIan, Catholic, ue-
br, ~ Ind 0:her Weddings
rP';sbursn Times.
Tho Times IL in receipt Of n communicA.
lion traced in n woman's hand on blue
linen note signed -. NJ. r" inquiring
tiInidly what Is the expense OF n modest
Protestant church wedding, including
ministers and orgr nist's fees, heating
and lighting church, and my Other exc
renso whirh may pertain TO the occasion,
onIi ting floral decorations. The Times
has obtained informant n aS to the cost Of
nearly every kind of civil,z 81 wedding,
modest and otherwise. For example,, the
ncmo Of maghifcehce In the matter Of
Protestant weddings Ia undoubtedly one
In Westminster Alley, where the fees OF
the C n n, etc, foot mp from $400 to 500.
This Is the most rpmune alive wedding
for modest Protestant set Of churchmen
that J. NJ. E'S intendeded CO uld probably
invest in. On the other hand the pastor OF
one Of Pittsburgh's most fashionable
churches furnishes on instance OF as profit
less a one. "I shnn't Locate the story"
said he, ''for 1t would hurt the best m ans
feelings TO hive IL known. The best man
came TO me after a wedding. at which
hal received no fee, and said: Il never
handed you that, did II Well, the ruth
Is, the groom gave me the envelope for
you, nDl l had a present use for the
money, and so, ALL didn't hnnd IL TO
you.' ale never has since,I' said the min
lister. ut was quite a remarkable case Of
forcs d loan, wasn't ?"
As for a direct answer to J. NJ. f. Is ques-
tioning n leading Baptist minister made
the most spPreciaiive response with fig
ures, which may be arranged in the fol-
lowing table:
OrSaalst................. ............."......S-
sexton ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. 10
hlhiSter 10
White satin ribbon ito keep the crowd
from running over the bridal party).... 10
Nhrr"ies ...'s'.s.s................. Is
flo"ers ..s'.......s............... Is
Total for modest Protestant Church
Wedding.................
All these are figures of mere respectable
ity. For Instance, the minister's fee Is
often much larger. The Rev. D.. John
Hall, the swell Presbyterian pastor of New
Hosk, Is said never 10 have been offered
less than so by n marry ing member OF his
congregation, while the honnrarium was
often 500. Again, II one should take up
the time OF great musician, who was
also tho organist OF a fashion allie church,
with the performance Of hacknoyed
church music, he could hardly apologize
with less thnn $50. In fact, IL Is said that
the organist OF st. Stephens, Philadel-
phia, David ID. Wood, has Il in his con-
tract that no one shall play the organ in
that church without his consent, and AT
weddings he charges $50 for that perform
ance. The matter OF flowers once more is
very modestly stated in the table. A
hJ.ist furnishes another table on this sub
ject.
For church anil house. according 10
elaborateness OF decoration, so, SIS, 5 o,
SO and upward.
Good decorations for church and house.
S25 zach edifco.
Flowers for brides, 50 to 81; for brides
maids, 81 TO -.
J. NJ. 4. need probably have no fear rs
TO any expense in tho matter Of heating
and lighting the church OF a representa-
tive Episcopal parish. Said clergyman
OF that denomination: sour churches are
always open, and we encoura ge church
marriages. In fact there is no char o for
marriage.
III, in .dition to the performance Of the
ceremony, the organist anil bell ringer
are wanted, Of course that is a different
ques ion. IL may be said parenthetically
that bell-ringers generally expect $40 for
their SERVICE" On the same subject u.
p. pastor said; "No, have never known
Of charge being made by trustees for the
use OF a building in which a marriage
took place. can't say / approve OF
church marriages, however. Ielieve In
marriage ceremonies being perform ed in
the homo as we'll as death and baptismnl
services. Homes should have rs IN my as
sociations as can be- given them, and not
he, as so often they are In this coun .ry,
mere dormitories." - ....
IL J. NJ. f. marries q Hebrew she will
probably have n less expensive wedding
In the matter of chur h fees than IL he
were a modest Protestant This is simply
because very few Hebrew wedding cere-
monies nro performed in the synagoc nc.
The rabbi OF one OF the synagogues fur
nishcl thi, informatiJn: "Our usual fees
for the rabbi are $40, for the sexton So,
and the organist s. to $40; but there are
very few weddings in the syna gogue."
Again, IL j. n. Els fin ii choice is Roman
Catholic she may very likely escape the
'exton's fee. In the Catholic church mar
riage Is n sacrament. There is no charge,
but an ffcring, and when a grand service
Is desired It is usual to pay the orgnnist
and sexton. AS for the Offering, IL varies
from IS to $40 or SIS, the Ia gest often
coming from the people from whom the
smallest Is expected, and, Of course, vice
versa.
But II J. NJ. E. shoul move out Of town
and marry elsewhere these figures will he
valuable to her: On the Pacific coast the
ICES to Unitarian clergyman run from
SO to $40. In New York the same; while
in the interior Of Illinois they nre fr IN 81
e. s..
A question which J. NJ. F. omitted 10
ask, for the reason, perhaps, that as the
expense will fall in any event on her
parents IL Is just hs we'll for them to he
kept la Ignorance, Is: What IL the cost of
the usual adjunct TO the church wedding,
the breakfastl A caterer who Is an au-
thcrity says: 1.-THE caterers will not
charge more than $I.5O or s. head for
the usual collation.. or course, IL there are
extras 1t Is diGerent-S3 to 70 apiece at
least