Monday, September 13, 2010

OUR WEDDING ALBUM - SEPTEMBER 13, 1961

 

My brother-in-law, Frank, Tom, me, my sister Gayle

For years, I had no idea in which of our many photo albums to look for the snapshots of our wedding, but after a persistent search through a good many albums, I found them a few months ago. Tom and I married in Charleston, South Carolina, at the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St. John in the bishop's private chapel. The small chapel was the perfect setting for our wedding, because only a very few were in attendance. Fr. Francis Friend presided over the ceremony, and he was a true friend. Because we were not members of their parishes, the other Roman Catholic priests whom I approached to do the honors, refused. We wanted to do the right thing, but we could not find a priest to make an honest woman out of me until I discovered Fr. Friend.

 

The bride and groom

Fr. Friend worked at the Cathedral office of the Marriage Tribunal, which generally handled annulment cases, but, in our case, he agreed to preside over our wedding ceremony. Present were my sister, Gayle, my brother-in-law, Frank, my niece Donna, Frank's sister, Chally and her two children, Cindy and Don. After the ceremony, my sister had a surprise wine and cake party for our small group. It was lovely, and I would not change a thing.


The happy couple once again...

After I finished graduate school at Louisiana State University in early August 1961, I went to stay with my sister in Charleston, South Carolina, because Tom was on active duty in the US Army at Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. He came to visit in Charleston on weekends until he was released from active duty to the US Army Reserve at the end of August or early in September. Since we wanted a small wedding, we decided to get married in Charleston. My family was large, and there was no way to have a small wedding in New Orleans without hurting the feelings of a good many people.

 

...and again - sipping champagne

Tom and I both had jobs waiting in Mobile, Alabama, and after a honeymoon that lasted a night and a day in St. Augustine, Florida, we headed to New Orleans and New Roads, Louisiana, to pick up our few possessions before we went to Mobile to our jobs. We had very little money and none for a longer honeymoon.

 

Me, my niece, Donna, and Tom

On the way to New Orleans, my car the, 1953 Chevrolet hard-top convertible pictured behind us, began to make a terrible noise when we turned curves. We were able to complete the trip to New Orleans, with the grinding sound on every curve, and we knew that we likely had expensive repairs facing us. I'd purchased the car used several years before, and, in those days, car dealers routinely turned back the mileage on used cars, so no telling how many miles the car had run. Instead of paying for the repairs, we decided to buy a new car.

We purchased a 1961 Ford Falcon, with no money down, only my old car as a trade-in and proof that we both had jobs. We loaded all our possessions into the Falcon (Those were the days of the simple life!) and started out on our new life together in Mobile.

And here we are, 49 years later, hardly changed at all.

49 comments:

  1. Congratulations, you two! What a lovely story and great photos.
    Penny

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  2. Thank you for sharing yourselves with us...you´re inspiring, both then and now (and a wonderful looking couple too)...I wish you years more of continued happiness and peace of mind.

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  3. How lovely, Grandmere! I wish you both many, many happy years to come.

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  4. Thank you all. The post was a little surprise for Grandpère. After he looked at the pictures and read the words, he cried. He cried again after he read your comments.

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  5. I love happy stories. This is lovely. I am so glad you finally found your photos and happy again that you shared them with us. Happy Anniversary, you two lovebirds, and many happy and healthy returns.

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  6. Looking better than ever - IMO -- Congratulations!

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  7. HOw wonderful! And how gracefully you have aged together. What a lucky couple you are....!

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  8. So sweet! Congratulations! And thanks for sharing your story with us.

    Love those old pictures. Y'all are so good looking, then and now!!!

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  9. Congratulations! God grant them many more years!

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  10. Oh, you lovely people, thank you. Tom is likely to spend the better part of the day in tears.

    How about Tom's dress shoes with shorts? He's crying, and I'm laughing at the pictures. I'm moved to cry only when I see how slender I was back then.

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  11. The integrity of these photos conveys your ongoing ¨eye contact¨...look at the ¨champagne sipping¨ and the happy couple of today...I think we know you, and who you are without words...it´s always been about looking the world in the eye (no matter when called upon to do so and smile)...Love to you both (as at this very moment San Miguel the Archangel statue is processing to another home in this village after a ruckus evening of fireworks, drinks, food and dancing when he made his ¨visitation¨ accross the street (didn´t sleep a wink)...you were blessed by the vigilance and victorious honorability and hospitality of San Miguel yesterday in Central America...yes, your anniversary is part of a worldwide celebration that will last all month!

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  12. What a lovely couple, then and now. I'm glad to learn Grandpère is so sentimental. He has really good reasons to cry happy tears!

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  13. ...yes, your anniversary is part of a worldwide celebration that will last all month!

    Leonardo, a whole months's celebration! I don't know if I'll manage to keep up. However, I'm quite grateful for the protection of San Miguel.

    Love to all of you, too.

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  14. God has truly smiled on you both and it is apparent in the light still there in your faces after 49 years. Congratulations.

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  15. Lovely post and pics. Had forgotten that you tied the knot in SC. From last week's NYT a few ideas for a second honeymoon in Charleston. A new hat, perhaps?

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  16. We've had our ups and downs over the years, but God has smiled on us in a good many ways.

    Lapin, my sister Gayle (but not the groom!) and I made a nostalgic trip back to Charleston several years ago and had a lovely time.

    As you see, my taste in hats is more sedate than those pictured in the NYT article, but, if you look closely at the large views of the pics, you will see that I'm wearing a veil. I wore the wedding suit for years, until it went out of style.

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  17. What a wonderful series of photos and what great smiles. My other half and I have been married 45yrs this year - I can hardly believe it. Where did all the time go?

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  18. I saw the bow, but had not caught the veil. A former colleague of mine, name of Joyce Werner, from Baton Rouge, trained in the library school at LSU, but she would have been a few years your senior. She moved back to LSU many years back, to head the reference department there. Dead now, alas. A difficult woman at times - says he who can talk - but much missed.

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  19. Freda, part of the reason Tom cried was that he could not believe that so many years had passed since the wedding. Where did the years go?

    Lapin, the hat was a flattish pillbox with a bow and a veil in the front. I kept the hat until about 10 years ago.

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  20. . . . but we could not find a priest to make an honest woman out of me . . . .

    I cannot believe, Mimi, that you were not an honest woman before that.

    Congratulations and best wishes to you both!

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  21. Gorgeous photos and neither of you has changed a bit. Happy anniversary, have a fabulous celebration and I hope you've got another 49 years to go.

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  22. Paul (A.), back in the day, I actually was a fairly honest woman, as were most of my friends - or so they said.

    Cathy, we're dining out à deux later this evening.

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  23. Congratulations Grandmere and Grandpere! You are an inspiration to us all.

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  24. You both look wonderful. Congratulations to you both!

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  25. You really haven't changed much over the years. You both still look wonderful. Izzie sends her love to Tom (I'm sure she remembers the bacon) and I send mine to both of you. Congratulations!

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  26. Happy anniversary (joining late in the chorus, as usual)! So many start out and so many fall by the wayside. Congratulations to you and, more so, continued blessings on your lives together. Félicitations!

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  27. Thank you, thank you all. Hugs and kisses to each and every one of you.

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  28. Mazel tov, and stuff.

    I think that's the first photo I've seen of Grandpere. What a gentle and kind face!

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  29. [After I finished graduate school at Louisiana State University

    Ah yes, the Simple Bayoux Grandma. Good one, Mimi---you had me fooled! ;-p (What are your degree(s) in?)]

    Mazel Tov to both of you!

    9-13-61: when you got married, I was bun-in-the-oven . . . and if there's anything else you like to tell us about your simple wedding... *LOL* [I kid because I love ;-)]

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  30. Mark, thank you. I've published several pics of Grandpère before. He is gentle and kind - most of the time.

    JCF, my degree is in Library and Information Science.

    You're a mere youngster. No further details about my simple wedding will be forthcoming. :-)

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  31. Did you have a nice meal with Grandpere last night, Mimi? ... (Asking because I love to hear about food :-))

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  32. Cathy, we did. We went to a restaurant here called Flanagan's. Tom and I shared a spinach-artichoke dip as an appetizer. For the entrées, I had shrimp scampi over pasta, and Tom had a fried seafood platter. We both carried home enough food for a meal today. No room for dessert, though.

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  33. PS: We sat next to a couple whom we know who were also married on Sept. 13, but three years before us. They were celebrating 52 years. We've been asked why we married on the 13th, an unlucky number, but for the other couple and Tom and me, the opposite has proved to be true.

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  34. hiya Mimi - is it Flanagan's in Thibodaux? I just looked them up (I love reading menus). I couldn't see any desserts listed in fact, though I am sure they must have them. Looks really nice. The fried seafood platter sounds delicious.

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  35. Cathy, that's it. The restaurant definitely has desserts. I've partaken of too many not to know. It's a nice place. On Sundays, they serve a jazz brunch accompanied by live music. I don't know if their site mentioned that.

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  36. Congratulations and love from me and all the cats! Wishing you many happy days and years ahead.

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  37. Mimi - I didn't see anything on the site about live jazz but it sounds fun. Are there quite a few good local restaurants in Thibodaux? ... With New Orleans close by as well you and Grandpere must be spoiled for choice.

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  38. Thanks for sharing and happy anniversary!

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  39. A little late.. but nonetheless, my heartiest congratulations for your anniversary.

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  40. Thank you. All congratulations are welcome, timely or late.

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  41. Congratulations Mimi and grandpere. May you continue to enjoy wedded bliss for many many many years!

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  42. Congratulations!! Thanks for sharing the pictures of your wedding. It was lovely.

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  43. Thanks Rudo and Two Auntees. I enjoyed arranging the pictures and writing the post.

    Just now, it occurred to me that the suit is a Jackie Kennedy suit. And the pillbox hat, too, is somewhat her style, although a little flatter than those Jackie wore.

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  44. Cathy, I see that I didn't answer your question about restaurants here. We do not have many good restaurants in Thibodaux and only a few in Houma, the next town over.

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  45. Mimi, I am late coming around but let me add congratulations, too. What wonderful pictures and a wonderful story. Many more happy years together for both of you!

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  46. Dennis luv, thanks for the kind words and good wishes.

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