Wedding Memories

Now, when I look down at my simple $12 wedding band, I remember our happy life together. Bob and I raised two wonderful sons and enjoyed 38 years of marriage. 

Fay – Lawndale, Illinois 

Summer Ceremony Was Hot 

August 5, 1951, was the hottest day ever, or so it seemed to everyone who attended our wedding. 

It was an evening wedding, back before air conditioning, and fans were set up near the front of the church for the minister and the wedding party, but it was still hot. 

When we turned to face our guests after the ceremony, we saw them waving cardboard fans back and forth in an effort to cool themselves. Proceeding down the aisle, I saw that many of the candles had been extinguished because the heat had made them melt and lean, causing a fire hazard. 

At the reception in the fellowship hall, the topper on our cake was leaning forward and looked like it was about to fall. As we opened our gifts, I could feel the sweat running down my back. I was sure the hairstyle I had spent so much time getting just right was quickly resembling a wet mop. 

I'm sure our guests don't remember the beautiful baskets of gladiolus adorning the church sanctuary, the yellow rose corsage atop my Bible, or the beautiful cake, but instead remember how good the iced tea and water tasted on that hot August day when my husband and I were married. 

Norma – Albion, Nebraska 

Vows Briefly Put On Hold 

When we met, Orv was a 45-year-old confirmed bachelor, and I was a divorced 35-year-old with two children. I was re-engaging in a teaching career, and Orv sold securities.  

One evening, Orv's boss asked him to call on my next-door neighbor, and, as fate would have it, he knocked on my door instead. We struck up a conversation about investments, and a week later he took me to a company shareholders meeting. 

We started spending time together, talking and sharing our problems. Orv had recently broken up with a woman he had hoped to marry, and I, of course, was divorced, so we shared a few common miseries. After some time, we stopped talking about the past and began making plans for the future. We decided to get married, and we set the date for the following June.