52 Ancestors #23: My Wedding

When my husband proposed, he thought I would want a wedding ceremony; he just hoped it would be small. His first surprise was learning I thought our parents would join us at the courthouse, witness our marriage, and we'd all go out and have a nice lunch! He couldn't believe it. I was an only daughter, surely we needed a wedding ceremony.

We compromised with a very small wedding. We mailed 16 invitations. There were 31 guests, including five children under the age of five. We were married in the historic district of New Bern, North Carolina, by my parents long-time minister. Our wedding lunch was at the historic Henderson House (which is no longer in business), and our overnight guests filled up the bed-and-breakfast across the street. My double-first cousin and best friend forever flew in from Luxembourg to be my maid of honor and Pete's Dad was his best man.

I'm on the left and my double first cousin, Joyce, is on the right

I carried a single white silk rose (Mom's idea) and wore that ivory silk suit on special occasions for several years.

Pete and his Dad, who was his best man

I did not walk down the aisle, something that terrified me. Instead, the wedding party sat on the first pew and at noon we stood up and were united in marriage. It took about 10 minutes!

Pete and I at our wedding lunch

We celebrated our 27th wedding anniversary last month. We've both changed a bit. Pete is better looking now and I, well, I went a different direction. :)

Pete's immediate family

My family

"Immediate" is a relative term for my family. My father and his brother married sisters! And we all grew up in the same town or next door. Then there was my grandmother and a beloved widowed aunt and a few other dearly loved family and friends.

This is my entry for Amy Johnson Crow's 52 ancestors in 52 weeks challenge optional theme Wedding.