Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Thirty-Nine Years and Counting





December 27, 1972. Rehearsal Dinner. The groom was so nervous that he could not enjoy the meal.

December 28, 1972, early afternoon: The bride drove by the tux shop and saw the groom - gunned her Mustang so that the groom didn't see her - the old legend says that the groom is not to see the bride before the wedding (that certainly has gone the way of the dinosaur since most pictures are now taken before the ceremony).

December 28, 1972, 6:00 p.m. - The florist messed up and didn't send the boutonnieres, nor the bouquet intended for the bride to throw. The boutonnieres arrived just in time, the extra bouquet never did arrive.

December 28, 1972, 7:00 p.m. - The wedding began. The bride had wanted the two of them to sing to each other. The groom said he didn't think he could do that. It's a good thing he knew himself that well, judging by the rehearsal dinner situation (above). The groom's sister sang, "We've Only Just Begun," by the Carpenters. The groom's parents later sang "Together Forever," from the musical "I Do, I Do." The bride and groom exchanged vows that had been written especially for them by the bride's sister. The prayer song was "Saviour, Like a Shepherd Lead Us," again by the groom's sister. The bride and groom prayed separately - the groom's prayer almost had the bride in tears. The final song was "All Our Lives," also by the groom's sister. Can you tell that music plays a big part in the lives of this couple??

Both pastor fathers performed the ceremony and they presented a copy of "The Living Bible" to the couple.




The church was decorated with white flocked trees, white lights, and blue satin balls (did anyone notice the oversight on the bride's part - some sort of skirt under the trees would have been nice!) The church building had been sold, but the new building had experienced many delays and was not finished. The pews had been sold to a small church in Denver. For some reason the bride's father, the pastor of the church, let the members of the little church come and pick up the pews BEFORE the wedding! As long as the lights were out and the candles glowing, it looked okay. But those folding chairs looked a little less than elegant when the lights came on!




The honeymoon was to be in the Grand Canyon and vicinity.




Just before the wedding, a storm blew in, which came from that direction. The travel agent encouraged the groom to change plans and not head into that situation. The first two nights were in Estes Park, until the groom developed a sinus infection!




The couple headed down the mountain to see the doctor. While he was out getting checked over and medicated, the bride spent the time at the new apartment, opening gifts, hanging pictures, and generally making it habitable. The groom came back with an entirely new plan - stay home until after New Year's Day, then fly to California to Disneyland, Knotts' Berry Farm, and the Japanese Village. The couple had family over on New Year's Day to watch football and "dine" on Tuna Touchdown Casserole, in honor of the theme of the day.

The couple expected to bask in the warmth of California, but it was in the 60s. They froze! But considering that there was a huge storm back home, they felt blessed. Because of the weather, it was as though everyone cleared the streets for this couple to be alone on their honeymoon. It was glorious.




The years have brought many adventures, mountain peaks and deep valleys. God has always been there, by their sides and in their lives.




23 comments:

Amy said...

Happy Anniversary!

Laurie in Ca. said...

Love this Dawn!! I hope you guys have a wonderful day celebrating your anniversary. God is so good isn't He? Love you.

Love and Hugs, Laurie

Ginger said...

Absolutely loved this post Dawn. I think the fact that we were married in 1979 and I can relate to the music so well.

We had the Carpenter's We've Only Just Begun as well. Savior like a Shepherd lead us was a childhood favorite.

Would you believe we headed to Winter Park, CO for our honeymoon and ended up in Iowa in an ice storm. We turned around and spent the week in our apartment. One year later we spent two weeks in Colorado Springs and stayed overnight in Estes Park.

Oh those days were priceless!

Thanks for sharing! So fun to read.

jmckemie said...

Happy Anniversary! You learned early on in your marriage to be flexible and go with the flow - even at the ceremony when the pews were already gone! Prayers that the blessings will be multiplied in many more years together.

Brenda said...

That's a beautiful post, Dawn. And I bet you wouldn't trade any of it...except maybe put skirts under the trees, right?!

Mimi said...

loved this post... what a special reminder of your love for each other...

Sam said...

Absolutely beautiful. All of it. Happy Anniversary!

Midlife Mom said...

Happy Anniversary! It was fun reading about your wedding and honeymoon. Nothing ever goes completely as planned does it? It makes for fun memories though!

Loved your Christmas post, I had two of your posts to read. I'm with you on HL, that is disgraceful that they don't let their employees out in time for the Christmas Eve service! Around here the stores are staying open later and later to get all the $$$ they can squeeze out of the public.

We finally got some snow for a white Christmas but it is all gone now. It was very warm today, almost 50* outside! This has been a strange winter!

nannykim said...

Cool memories! I thought the trees looked really pretty and didn't notice the lack of skirts...funny about the lack of pews--really funny!Nice wedding picture too!A sinus infection on a honeymoon--not good!!! What a strange way to start a life together. Changing the subject, I love my kindle. I go walking with it--I just enlarge the print and can walk at a good clip. Can even do Bible memory this way. Love carrying tons of books this way when I am on trips or in the car traveling. It is very handy. But for reference books it is nicer to have the real book.

Needled Mom said...

Happy anniversary! My folks would have been married 65 years on Dec. 27th. It looks like it was a perfect wedding in spite of the problems with flowers.

Had you come to CA this year you would find temps in the 80s. You blew it by 39 years!!!!!!

Hootin Anni said...

What a special, special post Dawn. Thirty nine years...how time flies. Bud and I will be wedded blissfully for our 44th this coming may. And our honeymoon was in Chicago. What tales I could tell. LOL


HAPPY HAPPY ANNIVERSARY tho it's late in coming from me....it's meant with all my heart.



There's a 'WAR' in Texas

Happy New Year to you and your family. May 2012 bring you everything you wish for in the coming days.

grammy said...

Happy late anniversary. It was fun to hear all about it (o: Times were simpler then weren't they. We spent one night in Boulder and came back to company still here from the wedding. Rich found out the company he was working for went out of business and he was jobless! Oh well...we survived. Like the last post about getting ready for Christmas.

nancygrayce said...

What a beautiful wedding and what a great bride and groom! It sounds like a fairy tale and you two have had many years of love!

It's amazing to me how much Kristen looks like you!

Here's to many, many more anniversaries!

Ms. Kathleen said...

Happy Anniversary! How blessed and what a sweet story! It's snowing here now!... It will be a very white New Year in the Black Hills :)

Liz said...

Hope you enjoyed a wonderful anniversary Dawn & Dwight!!
39 years is wonderful :)

Sharon Lynne said...

Love the hotel decorations!

Congratulations on 39 years! And still going strong!

I loved the wedding story. And the picture of the girls and their grandparents on the blog is a great shot! So when will those twins grow their hair again? They must like it short. (And much easier to wash) They certainly look cute in any style.

Yes, you should write that letter about working on Christmas Eve! One never knows...they may change their policy.

Forty Pound Sack said...

Happy Anniversary! I love your wedding photos ~

Christa said...

Happy Anniversary!

Carole Burant said...

Happy New Year to you and yours, dear Dawn! Christmas has finally been put away and I now have more time to concentrate on my blogging. I'm looking forward to some quiet days ahead:-)

Happy Anniversary as well!! I so enjoyed the way you wrote this post and the accompanying pictures. I got married in 1976 and "We've Only Just Begun" was sung at our wedding also! Another thing in common, my bouquet was not the one I had ordered!!! lol Isn't it amazing to look back throughout the years and think you had no idea all of that would be happening after you got married!

Looking forward to another year of your delightful friendship:-) xoxo

Robin in New Jersey said...

Congratulations! Love your synopsis!

Unknown said...

I love this post! The details and the pictures are just wonderful. Generations to come are going to love having this information. :-)

My Recent Favorite Books said...

Happy Anniversary!

I really enjoyed reading your posts,..so sweet!

Robin Raven said...

I am a few years late in reading this, but I came across this when searching for something about The Carpenters. I am so glad I did. What a charming wedding and honeymoon story. I'll be sure to follow your blog. Happy belated anniversary. :)