the incident. Even were the wedding party to get
hopelessly entangled, no "crime" would have been committed; but any detail
that destroys the smoothness of the general impression is fatal to
dignity--and dignity is the qualification necessary above all else in
ceremonial observances.

=HOW THE PROCESSION IS DRILLED=

The organist must always be at the rehearsal, as one of the most important
details is marking the time of the wedding march. Witnesses of most
weddings can scarcely imagine that a wedding march is a _march_ at all;
more often than not, the heads of ushers and bridesmaids bob up and down
like something boiling in a pan. A perfectly drilled wedding procession,
like a military one, should move forward in perfect step, rising and
falling in a block or unit. To secure perfection of detail, the bars of
the processional may be counted so that the music comes to an end at
precisely the moment the bride and groom stand side by side at the
chancel steps. This is not difficult; it merely takes time and attention.

A wedding rehearsal should proceed as follows:

First of all, it is necessary to determine the exact speed at which the
march is to be played. The ushers are asked to try it out. They line up at
the door, walk forward two and two. The audience, consisting of the bride
and her mother, and the bridesmaids, decides whether the pace "looks
well." It must not be fast enough to look brisk, or so slow as to be
funereal. At one wedding the ushers counted two beats as one and the pace
was so slow that they all wabbled in trying to keep their balance. The
painfulness to everyone may be imagined. On the other hand it is
unsuitable to "trot" up the aisle of a church.

The "audience" having decided the speed, and the organist having noted the
tempo, the entire procession, including the bridesmaids and a substitute,
instead of the real bride, on her father's arm, go out into the vestibule
and make their entry. Remember, the father is an important factor in the
ceremony, and must take part in the rehearsal.

The procession is arranged according to height, the two shortest ushers
leading--unless others of nearly the same height are found to be more
accurate pacemakers. The bridesmaids come directly after the ushers, two
and two, also according to height, the shortest in the lead. After the
bridesmaids, the maid (or matron) of honor walks alone; flower girls come
next (if there are any) and last of all, the understudy