There is no advance warning given as to the exact time the bridegroom would arrive. This was apparently true to the marriage customs of the day. A wedding would take place when the bridegroom arrived and he would arrive at the moment of his own choosing. It could be any time over certain days or even weeks, and during that time the bridal party would have to be perpetually ready for his arrival at any time. According to William Barclay, one of the great things to do in a middle-class wedding was