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Reader question: “Second marriage, no stage fright at the wedding...” What does this mean? My comments: This sounds like someone talking about their getting married for a second time. And because it’s the second time, they don’t have the first-time jitters people have getting married for the first time. You know, all the excitement, nervousness and anxiety over the wedding ceremony and everything else therein. You want everything to go well and smoothly, so much so that you are not quite your normal self. You’re nervous and not at all at ease. Hence, “second marriage, no stage fright.” Here, the person likens the nervousness before marriage to stage fright, i.e. fright before a theatre stage, the sudden fear and anxiety actors and actress have before performing onstage before an audience. This is a theater term associated with public performers. Or so I thought. Obviously, people facing a wedding ceremony can have similar fears and nervousness. For one thing, there are speeches to be made, the vows of lifelong togetherness, that sort of thing, in sickness and health, through thick and thin, etc. And when they are made in front of a lot of people (who attend the ceremony), it’s not much different from actors and actresses reading their scripted words out loud before an audience. Especially for first-time performers, stage fright is said to be a common experience. Later on, as they give the same performance again and again, as they regain confidence and control over it all, their fright for the stage gradually goes away. | 
