It was 20 years ago today!

That L and I "tied the knot." I remember planning for the day exactly. When we were first engaged in May of that year, we were planning to be married on August 20th. That was the day when my vacation was. So in our announcements we said the 20th. Then, a nice person, at my job, asked if I would like to trade vacation weeks with her. I jumped for the chance and said, "OH YES!" So we moved the marriage date up a week.

We had a hard time figuring out where we should get married. I was living in Wichita and he was down here. I thought about my "home church," but my parents were no longer going to the Presbyterian church where I grew up. I didn't have a church home in Wichita either. L was attending a fellowship just north of town and I didn't want to be married there. So we compromised. We would be married at the Mennonite Church where his parents were members. The next order of business was to obtain a pastor. I thought about using my parents' pastor, but he didn't know me. Then there was the Mennonite pastor, Weldon M., and he couldn't do because of his wife's troubled pregnancy. So again we compromised and used Randy O, who had led the fellowship that L attended.

Every chance I had we would go out to the church and I would figure how I wanted my taper lighters to enter the sanctuary or how I wanted my bridesmaids and the groomsmen to come into the church.

My pianist, Joan W., former music teacher at Harper Gr. School, was practicing the pieces of music we wanted at our wedding. Music that we liked didn't go over to big with his parents and they didn't want to hear "secular music," at their church. Finally L played the pieces of music the way it was supposed to sound (for his parents) and then they agreed to it. I remember it being touch and go for a while. I was bundle of nerves anyway, and didn't need this kind of problems.

Finally the day before the wedding hit. We did a rehersal and I kept messing up on the words. I was just too nervous. My brother, G, made sure that nothing happened to L the day before the wedding. I couldn't sleep very well that night at the "H motel."

The day of the wedding we all ate breakfast at Myers Cafe in downtown H. Our florist was Cindy Myers E.. The flowers looked great!!

I was still a bundle of nervous and bought a bottle of Pepto Bismol. My bridesmaids (all 2 of them, my sister-in-law and niece) were getting ready. I also had a flower girl, L's ten year old niece. My matron of honor fixed my dress just so, she was a great help! My niece, K, who was 15, was helping the flower girl get ready. Then "ripppp!" I turned around and there was a small hole in K's dress. So we asked our "cake person," Marie B., who was seamstress to help us. We taped the hole with scotch tape.

The wedding started as my taper lighters (our nephews) lit the candles. Then Law, my best friend, sang "He has Chosen me for you." I love that song, to this day!! When she first sang a sample of it once I said, "That's the song." Then the music started. KR the flower girl came down the aisle, followed by my niece K and a groomsman. Then my sister-in-law P with L's brother. Each time we would have our people come down the aisle when there was a "beat." In our tape L is nodding for each person to enter.

Then it's my turn. L said that the sun glowed around me. I was STILL nervous. In the middle of the ceremony R.O. and Debbie A. sang the song "Always." Oh they did such a great job of it too! My family really liked it. I wasn't sure how his family liked it.

After the "big kiss," Randy O., presented us and we walked down the aisle.

Many of those people who attended the wedding have since died. That's the sad part of watching the wedding tape. But what cracks me up (and it sure didn't at the time) is when our camera person said that he had our wedding on it, but taped the Harper County Fair Parade on the same tape!! So there wasn't the duet "Always," on the tape...I'll just have to rely on my memories of it.

We had a simple wedding. A nice simple cake and lemonade to drink at the reception. It was a small wedding. It was hot that day too. They threw rice and wheat at us. That stuff just stuck to my skin! I was still flicking off the wheat when we went to KC for our honeymoon.

But that's not the thing to remember 20 years later. I remember the marriage throughout the years that L and I have shared. The ups and the downs. The children's births and the tragedies. And how much in love I still am with L. Happy Anniversary L!! This one is for you!