I was blessed to marry the love of my life. And 30 years later, he's still the love of my life. So please indulge me while I take a brief stroll down memory lane.
Thirty years ago, we had a busy day scheduled. We skipped our baccalaureate. We graduated at 10 am in the same degree program
Don's mom, my dad, me, Don, my mom, Don's dad
Once we had lunch, we had to move out of both dorm rooms! And Don's mom cut my hair while the guys were moving Don's stuff. I know, the weddings of today would never have the bride getting her hair cut in the hallway of a dorm 3 hours before the wedding, but hey, it worked! After we moved the stuff to the truck, we had to drive an hour to get to my in-law's (to be) hotel room. Because you might have trouble getting a hotel room closer on graduation weekend!
So, we got back to my parents hotel room about 1 1/2 hours before the wedding...and I am not dressed...and I'm sharing a hotel room with one bathroom with 5 people...and my father felt that it was an equal opportunity bathroom (in other words, I didn't get any extra time just because I was the bride). Oh, did I mention that somehow my contacts got packed up with my dorm stuff, so I didn't have them for the wedding. Of course, I was too vain to wear my glasses for the wedding, so I just couldn't see. Which really isn't a big deal, because the bride is always on someone's arm!
We did get to the wedding on time, although I don't think they would have started without me! It had been raining right up until about 15 minutes before the wedding started. In addition, in 1979 we had gas rationing, so most of the people we invited couldn't come. You could only get a tank of gas every other day, so it did limit how far you could travel!
I made my wedding dress, and I was thrilled that the train didn't unravel as I walked down the aisle. I did, however, discover one major design flaw--you really need to be able to "bustle" the train after the wedding or people will walk over it all night! I'd be walking across the floor and be pulled up short because someone was standing on my dress!
The architect of the chapel we were married in was my great-uncle. The sculpture at the front of the sanctuary is called "The Gift of Life". And the man I'm standing next to is the one who introduced me to the gift of life by leading me to the Lord before we got married! By the way, we were married in the chapel on the Virgina Tech campus.
And so, I was very blessed 30 years ago, and I'm really blessed today. How about you?