Our 25th Wedding Anniversary 2012

Happy 25th anniversary to my DH and me today.  Wow!  25 years...


Matt. 19:6 Consequently they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.


This is my DH and me at Disney  World  five years before we married when we first met in 1982.  Looks like I actually had long legs and a tiny waist in this photo.   And check out those pastel blue pants!  :)   I was 27, he was 34.     No, we didn't date for 5 years--dated one year, separated and dated others,then got back together.  No, neither of us had been married before and no, we did not sleep together before we were married. [I say this to all the singles reading this so you don't feel like you have to rush into marrying or living with someone  simply because "all your friends are doing so."]  Part of our  story can be read HERE.

Since most of you did not know me when I was  a younger bride, I'd like to "invite" you to our wedding ceremony.  Unfortunately, neither of us had cameras at our rehearsal dinner which was held at the Orlando Citrus Club.  We had a delicious dinner overlooking the city of Orlando.  It was a lovely evening.  I wish there had been digital photography back then.   Oh, well, it's crystal clear in my memory.  :)


A dear friend had these pretty wedding programs printed for us as a wedding gift.

My sweet dad was almost in tears right before the ceremony.  One of my bridesmaids told us a joke to keep us both from crying literally a minute before we walked down the aisle.

We had a large wedding (300+ guests)  in the sanctuary of First Presbyterian Church, Orlando, my husband's childhood church and where his mother still attended at the time.  Church friends, college friends, relatives, neighbors, work colleagues...such a variety of people attended.

Lots of scripture reading and two wonderful soloists from Disney's  Voices of Liberty.  One sang Time for Joy; the other an original, unpublished version of The Lord's Prayer.   I'd not heard either song before or nor heard it since our wedding.   We were required to use the church organist (I would have preferred a piano) but he was accomplished and sounded great.

Here are the  beautiful lyrics to Time for Joy. I have the music if any of you would like to have it for your own wedding.

Chorus:  

Time For Joy, time for cheer

That is why we all are here 

To see the union of two we love 

Led and blessed by God above 

And as the church is loved by Christ 

So the man now must love his wife 

And as the church for Christ is to live 

So the wife her life to her husband she'll give  (Chorus)

From the beginning of time it has not been good 

For man to be alone 

And now before our eyes we see the blessed plan 

The marriage of a woman and a man (Chorus)

The mystery of ages is now again begun

How two can come as two  

And leave as one

We were glad that the church did not require that one of their pastors marry us.   It would have been strange getting married by a stranger.  The dear pastor we had is  the same one who had baptized me a few years earlier.  It was in his church that I became a Christian when I was about 23.  He and his wife have been friends and  mentors over the years.  Having him officiate was very special indeed.

Our wedding rings...sometime I must write about the proposal.  :)

My $100 Park Avenue wedding dress (marked down from $1,500)... an amazing gift from the Lord.  Lots of lace, a long train, several layers,  embroidered flowers...I loved it.  It had been hanging in my dressing room at the bridal shop the entire time I was trying on other dresses.  It was mis-sized which is probably why it had not sold and had been marked down.   This was the first of many "thank You, Lord" items that I wrote in my bridal book.

Another friend gave me the gift of having a stylist come to my home and do my hair and makeup that morning.   The power went out for about 45 minutes.  ALMOST a crisis!  :)  The only other one that I remember was that   only Bob was supposed to wear "tails". When the tuxes were delivered to the church, one of the groomsmen had tails also.  There was a race car event on I-4 to exchange it right before the ceremony began.  :)

Mr. and Mrs. T.

The hors d'oeuvres  and cake  reception was held in the adjoining fellowship hall.   Two of my pianist friends took turns playing the piano during the entire event which was so lovely.  Live classical and Christian music really made it elegant. The church is a large one so there was an in-house chef who prepared almost all of the food.  The wedding cake and the groom's chocolate cake were gifts from another friend.  My dad was so worried we'd smush cake in each other's faces.  :)  Needless to say, we did not.  We stood in the receiving line with our parents for probably an hour!  Our thoughtful wedding coordinator made sure that a box of hors d'oeuvres and cake was packed for each of us so that we'd have something to eat when we arrived at our hotel  later that evening. We didn't have any more than this bite of cake and a sip of champagne during the entire reception.

My brother flew in as a surprise from Germany to be with us. Here is my small family.

My husband is an only child but has a large extended family (this is only some of them).  Almost all of the older folks have passed away; the young ones have grown and married, some with children of their own.

Here we are with birdseed being thrown at us as we leave the church for our  2-week honeymoon.  I think it was the first time my husband had ever taken 2 weeks off at one time from work.   We visited many fun places and stayed exclusively in  bed and breakfast inns up and down the Eastern side of the U.S. ...St. Augustine, FL / Charleston, SC / Falls Church, VA and Washington, DC / Rockport and Boston, MA / New Haven, CT / Newport, RI / Williamsburg, VA / Raleigh, NC... what a wonderful trip for our first two weeks as husband and wife.  [We still found birdseed in our car. for several weeks. ]

This was taken a couple of months ago at an engagement party for one of my nephews...a few pounds heavier, a little grayer, hopefully wiser and trying to age gracefully.  :)

Twenty-five  years of memories together plus two precious sons.  -- It's been a wonderful journey and we have been through it all--for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health.    


Because we believe in a faithful marriage to one woman/man as a covenant for life, we continue to love and to cherish, till death do us part.  We  treasure the days and new memories we are making together, thanking God for the marriage He has given us so far.  Our children may not realize it, but they are blessed simply having parents who love the Lord and  honor their marriage commitment made before Him.  It is not because of us, however, it is by God's grace that two completely different people, as we are,  have done so.  So, here's to the next 25 years!  :)

The big secret to us staying together this long?

Eccl. 4:12 ...A cord of three strands (husband, wife, Holy Spirit) is not quickly torn apart. 


If you are married and are considering splitting up with your spouse (or have even done so), particularly if you call yourself a Christian, pray and reconsider what you are doing / have done to your children and your extended family.  Life is not always easy and as long as you have breath, there is hope for change.  I encourage you to not give up.  The consequences and emotional scars are long-lasting.

All wedding photography by:  Wayne Smokay Photography

Our anniversary dinner at home...a wine-tasting and The Sound of Music this weekend, plus another graduation celebration!  Our getaway trip is in a couple of weeks.  :)