The bride wore white, which was about the nicest thing you could say about her outfit.

It was, after all, 1797, and the Widow Duffy hadn't a farthing to her name. But that was all about to change, because it was her wedding day, and with it came a new husband, Harry Fowler, and the erasure of all debt carried over from her first marriage.

If romance wasn't exactly in bloom, at least she now had hope.

For a few hours Sunday at the Oliver Miller Homestead in South Park, the stark realities of life on the frontier were re-enacted through not one, but two weddings that faithfully followed the customs of the day.

In the first, Mary Miller, the youngest of Oliver and Mary's 10 children, was yoked to William Wallace of Cross Creek, Washington County.

The real Mary and William were married on July 12, 1797, and their modern-day stand-ins, Sarah Olesky and Max Hanscak, both of South Park, appeared joyful in their union.

The Widow Duffy approached marriage in a much more practical frame of mind. Western Pennsylvania of that era was an agrarian culture, where almost everyone's income depended on the harvest. A poor season or the death of a husband before he'd been paid for his harvest made debt commonplace.

Women were not allowed to own property, and in the case of the Widow Duffy, everything she had went to her husband's debtors. She relied on the kindness of friends and family but her impending second wedding would return her to a place of higher economic status.

Still, it was socially acceptable to put her in her place.

The widow, played in the re-enactment by Ellen Samek, of Bethel Park, was to wear a simple white linen shift. She also wore a plain white cap, which denoted her status as a "decent" woman; a "magdalene" might have been bare-headed for the occasion.

Smiling through the raindrops of an oncoming summer storm, upon being pronounced husband and wife, the new Mrs. Fowler would be dressed in items of clothing brought as gifts from friends.

The scene was in stark contrast to that of the first wedding performed that day.

The Oliver Miller Homestead associates maintain the original site of the landmark property off Stone Manse in South Park. Volunteers re-enact Revolutionary War encampments, frontier holidays, Whiskey Rebellion Day, candlelight tours and woolgathering, among other annual events.

A few years ago, there was a wedding. Last weekend's event was a similar re-creation, with volunteers dressed as ladies and gentlemen farmers of the day, hustling about in layers of natural-fiber clothing that was lovely to behold but had to be hotter than blazes.

Upstairs in the Stone House, the original dwelling dating from 1808, Mary Miller and her mother, played by Miss Olesky's real mom, Mary, were following the instructions of young Mary's "aunt," played by Barbara Bockrath, of Bethel Park.

Starting with a simple shift, she added layer after layer of petticoat, "thread" stockings, a "stay" undergarment for support, large, tied-on "pockets" to pouf out the hips, then several formal pieces made of pale apricot-colored taffeta: a skirt and fitted coat.

"There was no such thing as the extravagance of the 'white wedding gown,'" Mrs. Bockrath told onlookers.

All clothing was valuable, and anything this nice would be altered to be worn for years.

"She will be married in it, she will be buried in it," Mrs. Bockrath said.

Downstairs, a wedding feast of desserts was on display as Ellen Rosen, of Mt. Lebanon, explained that many of the cakes, apple-cheddar biscuits and cookies were of the sweetened-bread variety.

A single-layer wedding cake topped with meringue was the centerpiece. The Oliver Miller Web site, www.olivermiller.org, provides the recipe for the fragrant cake, which included wheat flour, brandy, currants, eggs, candied citron and butter.

Traditionally, the desserts would have taken days to prepare but Mrs. Rosen, a pastry chef, did them "in my electric kitchen."

Soon it was time for the weddings.

First up was the younger couple. The groom, accompanied by his parents and friends, made a noisy procession up the path from a log house situated down the hill from the main house. The "minister," Noel Moebs, of Pleasant Hills, presided over the Presbyterian ceremony.

For the benefit of homestead visitors, he was wearing a microphone. The bride and groom were miked as well, but as rain began to patter, the sound system hit a glitch.

No matter, Mary Pat Swauger, of Whitehall, was providing narration.

"My daughter got married on Clearwater Beach, and the mike went out," said Paula Bowman, homestead publicity director.

As they were presented to the crowd, there were shouts of "huzzah!" plus a few startling gunshots from wedding guests carrying rifles.

The Widow Duffy and Harry Fowler, played by her real husband, Harold Samek, didn't get quite a procession of gifts, livestock and goods after they were united in marriage, but she left wearing much more than her simple white undergarment.

Friends dressed her in a brown skirt, red jacket and white shawl, quite an improvement over her original garb.

Homestead officials say they don't believe that a real shift wedding ever was performed here, but the wedding of Mary Miller and William Wallace was a true event.

There were other festivities that day, including a children's dash to win a gallon of lemonade -- in the old days, it might have been whiskey -- and there were songs and dancing.

The real William and Mary went on to have a long marriage, as well as 10 children. He died at the age of 84 in 1842; she died in 1848 at the age of 83.