Bride wain
The bride wain, the wagon in which the bride was driven to her new home, and gave its name to the weddings of any poor deserving bride and groom, who drove a “wain” round the village, collecting small sums of money or articles of furniture towards their housekeeping. These were called bidding weddings, or bid ales, which were in the nature of “benefit” feasts. So general is still the custom of “bidding weddings” in Wales, that printers usually keep the form of invitation in type. Sometimes as many as six hundred bride and groom will walk in the bridal procession.
