Evening star., 1937-10-25
Individual
Duties at
NOOne Person Ever
Appointed Master
Of Ceremonies.
BY EMILY POST.

DEAR MRS. POST: We receive
many requests in this library for
information about weddings. and We
are at loc- whenever it happens that
an out of-the-way question is not COW
cred in your book The one We cam
not answer has to do with the respon-
Sibilities of the master of ceremonies
at a church wedding followed by
reception at the house. The inquirer
is very insistent that you cannot have
overlooked him, but We cannot find
word about him.
Answer-According to the precepts
of etiquette, a master Of ceremonies
at a wedding is unknown. I am
therefore wondering whether your in
quirer means the sexton, the caterer
or the best man or the head usherl
None of these is master of cere-
monies. but all four have duties which
might be considered as belonging in
part to such an office. The sexton has
charge of the opening of the church,
takes care of ushers' boutonnieres
and sometimes he carries the bride
groom's hat and stick from the vestry
to the front entrance. On occasion
he might possibly direct the parking
Of cars, but these duties do not make
him a master of ceremonies. If the
wedding is in charge of caterer, he
supplies every detail of food and table
equipment for the breakfast or the
reception, and If there is no butler,
he himself perhaps-but more likely
one of his ssistants-announces the
guests. But these duties do not make
him a master of ceremonies. The best
man takes charge of the bridegroom,
sees that he is properly dressed and at
the church in time. He takes care of
the ring and later gives the clergyman
his fee. At breakfast he proposes the
toast, "To the bride and bridegroom"
But even SO, he is not really master
of ceremonies. The only possible per-
son left Is the head usher. 1t Is his
duty to see that the people are all
seated In church where they belong,
and not allowed to sit where they want
to, because they know this or that
usher. The head usher also escorts
the brides mother up the aisle. And
that is all he does. 1t might be that
at small wedding breakfast or sup
per or dinner, at which every one is
seated at one big table, some one who
talks we'll might be appointed to pro-
pose toast to every one at the table,
and perhaps might be called the mas
ter of ceremonies. But such a lot OF
toasts would be very tiring as we'll as
threatening to sobriety, unless the
toasts are brief as we'll as witty, and
the responding sips are equally brief.
NEAR MRS. POST: My daughter is
~ to be married very soon now. I
think we have everything well under
control. There is one detail, however,
about which my wife is still WONDER
ing. 1t is in the matter of seating the
guests in the church. You wrote in
your column that the family and
friends of the bride sit on one side of
the church and the family and friends
of the bridegroom on the other.
In our own individual case our rela-
tives are few and the majority of our
friends live too far away to be present.
The bridegroom will, on the other
hand, have many people representing
him. Consequently, would you say
that it would be better to seat some
OF his friends on our side, or is this
seating arrangement fast rule?
Answer-Your family would occupy
as many pews as they require and
then, after devoting sufficient num-
Der to include his family on his side, the
bridegroom's friends fould be given all
Of those left over on the brides side.
fronVrishA QArl