The felicitations were apt to be trying to the nerves of even the best tempered groom.

The hand shakes, the heavy slaps on the back, and the pommeling he received at the hands of his intimate friends were as nothing compared to the anguish of mind he endured while they were kissing his wife.

The young bucks would not have considered it a real wedding had they been prevented from kissing the bride, and for that matter, every girl within reach.

So fast as the burly young settlers could push themselves through the densely packed rooms they kissed the bride, and then the first girl they came to.
Betty and Lydia had been Alice's maids of honor.

This being Betty's first experience at a frontier wedding, it developed that she was much in need of Lydia's advice, which she had previously disdained.
She had rested secure in her dignity.