Need help with marriage certificate entry please...

[surprise]

On a marriage cert from 1858, the bride's father's profession is listed as "was a labourer".

Does anyone know if this means he was a retired labourer or a deceased labourer?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Stating the obvious but have you looked for a death or is that why you want to know the answer to your question?

It was common to write deceased across the section for father if they where deceased but there are no hard and fast rules and vicars did a lot of adlibbing.