Years ago weddings were a big event and they usually took place in the fall after the fishing season ended. Both young girls and boys attended many weddings in the community and they knew at an early age that they too must be ready when their time came. By the time they reached their mid teens they were making plans for their own future. Most young men made sure they had a house built or at least almost completed before they took "the plunge". A girl on the other hand would spend years collecting for her "hope chest" as it was referred to. This was really her collection of dishes, quilts, table cloths, and things like pillow slips which were embroidered by hand or "fancy work" as it was called then. Those things were done sometimes before they even started dating.

Most all young girls looked forward to the day when they would meet the man of their dreams and get married and they would go through all kinds of rituals trying to figure out who their future husband might be. Sometimes a girl would put the white of an egg in a glass of water at night and place it on her windowsill. When the sun rose and shone on it in the morning the white of the egg would rise to the top of the glass and spread out in a pattern. The shape of this pattern would indicate something about her future husband, for example if the shape resembled a sail it would mean that she would marry a fisherman and so on. Another ritual involved putting a snail inside an envelope and leaving it overnight. During the night the snail would crawl around in the envelope and when the young girl opened it in the morning the snails movement would have traced out the initials of the man she would marry.

Back then when a young girl started dating a young man it was called "walking together". Some couples would be walking together only a short time when they decided to get married but others could walk together for years before a wedding date was set. Sometimes if a girl was seeing a young man who was known to be a bit shy an older woman would say to her " we think’s you’ll be walking with him a long time before he pops the question, my maid. " Back then there was no official engagement or an engagement ring when a couple finally did decide on marriage. They usually told their families and the young man would ask the girls father for her hand in marriage. After this the community would start preparing for the wedding.

Wedding preparations involved the whole community. The people chosen by the couple as the "maid of honor" and the "best man" would usually go door to door and invite everyone in the community to the wedding. The women baked cakes, pies, and cookies while the men of the community made sure that there was a "drop of stuff" (moonshine or home brew) ready for the big day. The children were excited and looking forward to the event. The wedding itself was a big "to do" (important occasion) and the bride almost always had a new dress and the groom would wear his best suit. While planning the wedding the young lady had to consider many things and keep in mind what day of the week she should choose to be married on and what color to wear. She would recall the "old rhymes" she recited many times with her friends while growing up in the community,

Married in blue, always be true

Married in white, you will have chosen alright

Married in grey, you will live far away

Married in black, you’ll wish yourself back

Married in green, ashamed to be seen

Married in yellow, you’ll be ashamed of your fellow

It might be possible for her to choose the color of the dress she wanted but choosing the day could be a problem. There was always the possibility that the minister might not be available for the day she wanted. If this was the case another "old rhyme" was cause for concern,

Monday meant health

Tuesday was for wealth

Wednesday was the best day of all

Thursday that was a loss

Friday was for cross

Saturday was no day at all

Sunday was unheard of

On the day of the wedding the couple would travel to the church on horse and cart or sometimes walk. After the church service some of the men in the community would fire their guns to wish the couple a long and happy marriage. In the early years in Princeton the reception was usually held in the front room of the bride’s family home and by the late 1800's weddings were being held in the schoolhouse or the Orange Lodge. There was always a wedding cake and in the early years it was made by some lady in the community but by the 1940's people were buying three tier wedding cakes from Mammy’s Bakery in St. John’s for ten dollars and having them brought out by train. Tea, cake, pie and cookies were served at the reception and the table had to be set many times in order to feed everyone that arrived. All the community including seniors and children were invited. The first table to be set was for the bride and groom and included their parents, grand parents, the maid of honor, the best man, the minister and the more highly respected people of the community such as a teacher or merchant. The large tables would be set again and again until everyone had eaten. By the time the lunch was over the men had opened the homebrew and moonshine and the celebration was well underway. There would usually be a member of the community playing the fiddle or accordion and there would be some old fashioned dancing. Young and old alike took part in the celebrations. It was a time for little kids to stuff themselves with sweets, a time for the elderly people to get out and socialize, a time for the other married couples to give the newly weds a celebration and help them start their new life together and it was a time for the young girls and boys to think about when their turn would come. Many of the young unmarried girls at the wedding would save their piece of wedding cake, wrap it in tissue paper, put it under their pillow and hope to dream about the man they would marry. Weddings were joyful occasions for the whole community.

It was said years ago that "going to a wedding was the making of another" and Almond (Quinton) Bowen would certainly agree that there is truth in that old saying. When Almonds sister Marble, married John Bowen back in the 1940's Almond was her maid of honor and John’s brother William was his best man. It was Almond and William (Bill) who went door to door inviting people to the wedding. This was the first time that Almond had ever met Bill, but shortly after they were "walking together." Four years after John and Marble were married Almond and Bill also tied the knot. For Almond and Bill, going to that wedding was certainly the making of another.