the wedding custom

The town wedding rite in Sowerby: the vow is sworn before witnesses of the guild elders, over fire and salt — a guild custom, not a priests' rite. The wedding bread is broken at the start, not cut: in two hands at once, across the heads of both houses, and it is carried on from a starter set seven days before. Great feasts are held in the guild hall, and hired cooks serve them.