... Dan and I were planning our wedding.
He had the rings after we spotted them in a jewelry store in Washington, DC near where my HUD internship had taken me to work on an assignment at OMB.
I had purchased my wedding dress, a shirtwaist in blue, when I was on an assignment to the HUD office in Atlanta early in 1974.
We planned to go to a Justice of the Peace to get married because we didn't see the necessity of spending oodles of money on a big wedding.
On this day 50 years ago, I perched on a step stool in the kitchen while Mom made dinner and posed the question: "How would you feel about Dan and I getting married by a Justice of the Peace?"
Well, Mom didn't take it so well. The next night, Wednesday, Dan and I and Mom and Dad met for dinner at a restaurant to talk about it. We settled on an immediate family only church wedding with Dad performing the ceremony. When Dad asked the question "When do you want to do this?" Dan replied "Saturday." Dad's jaw dropped.
But we pulled it off. Dad got his license to perform the ceremony just before we got our wedding license at the Fairfax County Courthouse. Dad arranged for us to use the Fairfax Presbyterian Church where they were members, Mom made a reservation at Evans Farm Inn for a dinner afterward. She bought a cake at the local Giant food store.
We told all that were invited and only one of my brothers couldn't come from Pittsburgh. My other brother flew down from Boston without his spouse. My older sister was local and she, her husband and her first daughter, 3 months old attended. My two younger sisters were still living at home. Dan's parents were divorced so his dad came to the ceremony and his mom to the dinner. His three younger brothers attended.
Saturday evening, March 30, 1974 we were married.
In keeping with our frugality we didn't take a honeymoon until 1983 when Emily was 2. We went to the St. Thomas, Virgin Islands for a week and Emily went to her cousin's home for that week.
On March 30th this year to celebrate, we will go to a play and dinner out. Later this summer we will travel to Switzerland for two weeks and Emily and family will join us.
Now.
It's been a wonderful 50 years.
