February 3, 2012

40 years ago



Today is my 40th wedding anniversary.

Of course it seems like a life time ago that Wayman and I were married on a Friday night in a Uniting church in Broadview, Adelaide.

I was one month past my 20th birthday, and he had turned 21 the week before our wedding.

We were so young, and deliriously happy!


Our relatives and friends were pleased we chose a Friday night, as they could play their sport the next day, and not miss tennis or cricket to attend a wedding. Back then many people still played organised sport on a Saturday afternoon.
Actually we were forced to have a Friday night wedding as I had been accepted into a post graduate course in theatre nursing and we left it too late in changing the church booking to have a Saturday, so we changed to Friday night. Daylight saving was quite new and being married at 6pm meant we still had some daylight for photos.


My older sister was maid of honour [she had a 6 week old baby, not bad don't you think?] and the other bridesmaid was a nursing friend. The flower girl was a cousin of Waymans.

Waymans attendants were both work colleagues.

I spent months planning my wedding, [apart from the last minute change in day!] and I thought we were adding touches that were so different in many small ways. When I look back, it was a wedding of its time.

Mum made the dresses except for the flower girls, which was made by her mother
We invited ALL our extended families
The reception was in a community hall
I made the paper flowers that decorated the tables
My Mum wore a hat
Mum and Kate [Waymans Mum] worried about the fact that their outfits were both blue, but in the end they liked their dresses and went with it!
I had a "going away outfit"
The photographers camera malfunctioned, he didn't have a spare, so there are no photos of me arriving at the church. He had to drive across town to get another camera!
We were given a reel to reel audio copy of the service.
We had a little family drama.
My little sister was overseas and not due home until later. I refused to wait for her to arrive back.....I really wanted to be a scrub nurse in an operating theatre!

Waymans Father had died of a heart attack just 10 months before we were married.
Kate was brave and gracious, allowing us to enjoy our day without any thought of the heartache she must have felt at loosing her only child so soon after Dougs' death.



She was one classy lady.

We had speeches, an old farmer, a neighbour, who I had called Uncle Max all my life gave the toast to the bride and groom, and the best man stole the night with a very witty speech that he delivered in grand style.


I loved my day, not because it was perfect and flawless, in fact it was a bit of an amateur production.
I loved it because I was marrying Wayman. And I think he felt the same about marrying me.

Isn't that the way it is supposed to be?



It began a wonderful marriage of thirty nine and a quarter years.

Not bad for a couple of kids.

4 comments:

  1. I don't know that I've ever seen the group photo Ruth - my family are giving me heaps about the hair-do! good thing Rod was so tall, wasn't it!
    It was a very special day - you made a beautiful bride and you only have to look at the photos of the two of you to see how happy you were - the start of your wonderful years together! xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. Check out Angelina and Brad!!!! Steph and I think it looks like a Hollywood Wedding - except for the oval surrounds - Shane

    ReplyDelete
  3. I think this is a beautiful memory to share Ruth xx

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shano - we couldn't agree more! Friends here think they belong to the golden Kennedy-family era :) Very beautiful..
    Ct x

    ReplyDelete