It was once a common belief that a man who married a woman wearing nothing but her shift would not be answerable for any debts she brought with her. Brides therefore sometimes came to the altar in a smock or with very little on. A clergyman wrote to Notes and Queries of performing such a wedding himself, since the rubric said nothing about the bride’s dress, and Chambers notes another at Whitehaven among several on record.
Marrying in a Smock
Printed under 15 February · Whitehaven, Cumberland
Lore and belief
It was formerly a common notion that if a man married a woman en chemisette he was not liable for her debts
From Chambers's Book of Days, vol. 1, p. 259. Read the original
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