To Have & To Hold Wedding Blog Party

"Dearly Beloved: We are gathered together here in the sight of God, and in the presence of these witnesses, to join this man and this woman in holy matrimony...."

Remember those words? Seems like a long time ago now and yet, sometimes it just seems like yesterday.....

I am joining my sweet friend Stephanie at Angelic Accents http://angelicaccents.blogspot.com/ for her Wedding Blog Party.


Now, please grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea because this is a long post! I don't have many photos to share with you so I decided to share my story to make up for it.

Our story began many years ago when we were just seventeen.....

Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love springs forth like a fairytale!

It was January and I had gone with my friends to a record hop on a Saturday afternoon and that was the day my life changed!

I was wearing the turquoise velvet tent dress that I had made in Home Ec class with my high boots and I had a feeling that something good was about to happen! I was just sitting and talking with my friends, when he approached me and shyly asked me to dance. We had exchanged names and danced a couple of times that day.

For three weeks in a row, he asked me to dance and then one day, he followed my friends and me into a restaurant after the dance where we always went to grab a snack before heading home.

He had sat on the other side of the room all by himself just as cute as could be. Then he had gotten up and put money into the jukebox. He had played three of my favourite songs which also happened to be his favourite songs. Neither of us knew it at the time that they were our favourites! Words by the Bee Gees was our number one favourite and it became our song and is to this day, our song.

After some persuading from my friends, I went over and joined him in his booth. He was glad I did; I could tell!
Afterwards, he walked me all the way home which was a three mile walk. We were both so shy, but about half way home, he took me by the hand and it was Magic!
After about a month, he asked me out on our first date.

We met at the Eaton's department store which is much like the Sears store, and afterwards, we went and had our pictures taken. You remember the booth where you put in a quarter and you got some snap shots? These are our pictures from our first date. Isn't he cute with his Beatle haircut? Look at my bangs! That was the style though.




We went to the dance that night and afterwards, he kissed me for the first time. We saw shooting stars and fireworks over head! I think we knew then, that we would be together forever!

Four years later, we were planning our wedding. Just like every other young lady, I dreamed of walking down the aisle in a beautiful white gown, like Cinderella, to stand beside my Prince Charming and exchange our vows to love one another forever. But it was not to be!

Just months before my wedding day, my mother and I had a very serious disagreement. My father really had no problem with my fiance but my mother had never been happy with my choice of a husband so she chose that time to voice her final thoughts on the matter. Well, needless to say, I did not receive it very well and for the first time in my life, I stood up to my mother. Now, you must understand that I loved my mom and I wanted her blessing, but I knew in my heart he was the right one for me. I knew God had brought us together!

So I changed my wedding plans....

My Prince Charming and I decided to get married quietly at the church where I was raised, with no family present and only a couple of friends in attendance.

When I was a little girl, my favourite colour was magenta or fuchsia and when I grew up, I still loved that colour so it was only natural that I would choose that shade for my wedding outfit.

I had a friend make my wedding outfit. I had chosen a beautiful velvet material in my favourite colour. Dress-pantsuits were very much in vogue then so that is what I chose to wear. The dress-pantsuit had a sweetheart neckline with ruched sleeves and the pants were bellbottoms. My friend had made me a matching headpiece as well and I wore a cameo choker at my neck. It was a very practical outfit because I was able to wear it for several years afterwards! Yes, I wore pink on my wedding day!

My bridegroom got me a bouquet of creamy white roses tied with white satin ribbon and he wore a new suit gifted to him by the men's wear store where he was working at the time.

I didn't get to walk down the aisle all dressed in white but it was the happiest day of my life up until then!

This is Hubby and me standing in front of the church where we were married. It was May 6, 1972.

After a small reception dinner, we left for a very short honeymoon and the following day, we went to my Auntie P's for a little wedding reception.

My uncle had also gotten married so Auntie was having a double reception to honour both her brother and his new wife and me and my new hubby. My whole family was there to celebrate the occasion. Auntie P had a wedding cake for both couples. Sorry, I don't have a scanner so I can't share those photos.

Love is when you look into someone's eyes and see forever.

Now, let's have a little fun, shall we? The pictures below I got off the internet to show you what my wedding would have looked like had I done the big wedding.

This is similar to what my wedding dress would have looked like had I worn the gown. I like simple lines with a little lace jacket over it. I never liked showing too much skin! I just love the lace jacket!

My bouquet.... Some of my favourite flowers are pink roses and peonies.

This is what my wedding cake would have looked like had I had a grand reception with all the family.

But today, I prefer a cake like this one below.
 

Cinderella and her Prince would have been the cake topper...



These really are my rings. The engagement ring and matching wedding ring are made of hammered gold and I love them as much today as when they were first placed on my finger. The eternity or anniversary ring Hubby gave me on our 35th Anniversary; sorry it's not a clearer photo.



Since our wedding day, we have crossed many bridges together. I quit work to become a stay at home mom and I loved baking cookies and looking after my family. It's all I've ever wanted to do really. Times were hard with only one income but it was the best thing I could do for my boys.
I really enjoyed being a mom and I loved every minute of it!

Today, I'm happy to report that my mother loves her son-in-law like a son and she once told me that I couldn't have chosen a better man! I knew it was only a matter of time and she would love him too because a finer man for me, just didn't exist. He really is my Prince Charming!

So, here we are, 38 years later and more in love than ever! I never get tired of being his missus!Today, we are the proud parents of three handsome sons and four grandsons, with another grandbaby on the way. And if we could, we would do it all over again! We truly are blessed!

Perhaps on our 40th Anniversary, we will renew our vows. If we do, you're all invited!

UPDATE: This past May, we celebrated our 40th anniversary with all our boys home. And we also have a granddaughter!

To all of you who are married and still in love; God bless you! And I wish you many more years of happiness together!

Love is a moment that lasts forever.

Sharing from my heart~ Sandi