All day a regular army of florists bent their skill upon the decoration, transforming the Blue Room into a fitting marriage bower. Cartloads of blossoms, vines, ferns, and palms, with flags and shaded lights, turned all of the state apartments into a fairyland of flowers, to form a proper setting for the loveliest bride and the youngest mistress the White House has ever known. The Blue Room was especially lovely. The mellow light of the tapers in the great candle stands, five feet high, a gift to President Jackson, added to the beauty of the scene. The mantels were banked with flowers. On one the date was outlined in pansies; on the other, the letters “F. C.,” in white and pink roses. Miss Folsom had originally planned that at her wedding, her grandfather, of Folsomdale, whom she called “Papa John,” was to be present and give her away. His death while she was crossing the Atlantic upset these arrangements, so with the first strains of Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March,” the President and his girlish bride came down the stairs unattended even by her mother. The bride’s gown was of absorbing interest. It was of rich corded ivory satin trimmed with soft folds of India silk edged with orange buds and blossoms. The same material was draped to form an overskirt, also edged with the dainty blossoms, which were artistically arranged over the entire costume. The four-yard train she managed as perfectly as if she had always worn it. A coronet of the bridal flowers held the soft silk tulle veil in place. More than five yards in length, it fell gracefully over the entire train. Long gloves met the short sleeves. A diamond necklace, the President’s gift, and her sapphire-and-diamond engagement ring, were her only jewels. The bridal couple took their places facing the Presbyterian minister, the Reverend Byron Sunderland, who performed the marriage ceremony, and the Reverend William Cleveland, brother of the bridegroom, who concluded the ceremony with the blessing. Immediately from the navy yard came the presidential salute of twenty-one guns, announcing the news to the city, and all of the church bells rang a marriage chime. An informal reception and collation followed, during which came many messages of congratulation, among them one from Queen Victoria. The decorations of the dining room were beautiful beyond description. The great mirror purchased for the mansion by Dolly Madison and used by every President since made a realistic sea for the full-rigged ship _Hymen_, constructed of pansies and pink roses, with the national colours on the mainmast and tiny white flags with “C. F.” on the other masts.