Cindi and Ted, Chapter Fifteen

I woke up that morning of June 14, 1980 after a restless night's sleep. Mary must have sensed that I needed some time alone. She pretty much hung out with my mom that morning, while I did some last minute things.

We had already received a fair amount of wedding gifts in the form of money and Ted and I had decided that we were going to buy a washer and dryer. I knew absolutely nothing about appliances, nor did he. We had seen an appliance store ad in our local paper that advertised a Whirlpool washer and dryer for around $500 (hey, it was a long time ago, so I can't be absolutely sure of the price, but I think I'm pretty close).

Being that Ted was the youngest of his family, he never knew what it was like to have a younger sibling, so he occasionally liked to "bond" with my brother. And Ted chose the morning of our wedding to continue the bonding process. He stopped by the house and picked up my brother (who is about four and a half years younger than me) and they went off to buy a washer and dryer. Can you really think of anything more manly than that??

In the meantime I decided to lay out in the sun for a little while. I guess I just wanted to have a little tan in my wedding dress. After an hour or so out there, I came in, took a bath, and started working on my hair and make-up.

Nowadays women go to the salon and have their nails done professionally, their hair done professionally, and their make-up done professionally. It would be nice to have those people fussing over me, but that's not how things were done back in 1980.

I've never been a person to spend a lot of time on my hair or my make-up so I knew that this was definitely not the time to experiment! I had almost always had long hair, so I knew the style would be something simple, and definitely NOT just hanging down. The make-up would consist of the very basics only.

Once those things were done, I polished my fingernails...with clear nail polish. I didn't want anything bold or bright, so a simple shine was enough for me. Good old Sally Hansen nail strengthener!

After my nails were dry, it was time for us to head up to the church. We got dressed in the basement of the rectory (where the priest lives). Fortunately all the girls in the wedding knew that I needed to sort of be left alone with my thoughts and we all did our own thing. After we were all dressed and ready to go, we went up to the living room and the photographer took some pictures.

Everyone looked so pretty. The dresses were simple but the pastel colors I had chosen really added some variety. And Holly looked absolutely adorable in her flower girl dress. She had very long naturally curly hair and had her hair back in a ponytail with the long curls hanging down. She had just recently turned four and was so cute! Although the aisle at the church was very long, we knew that she'd be able to walk down it with no trouble at all.

After the pictures were taken, we had about 10 minutes before the music was scheduled to begin. That's when I decided that I wanted to be over at the church so I could hear it. I had taken a long time selecting the music and we had an excellent organist and vocalist, so I wanted to hear them. We all went over to the church (right next door) and went into the stairwell that led to the balcony. No one saw us there and we got to hear the music, so it all worked out.

And then, before we knew it, it was time to start.

This was it.

There was no turning back now.

And I had no desire to turn back anyway!

The bridesmaids walked down the aisle.

Holly walked down the aisle, and did a fantastic job.

Mary walked down the aisle.

Then....

my dad and I started down the aisle.

I was smiling while holding onto my dad's arm and didn't look over at him on our walk.

We got to the front of the church, and the ceremony went off without a hitch. I recall looking down at my watch at one point and noted that it was 2:20 p.m. The music had started at 1:30 and the wedding had begun at 2:00. Don't ask me why I looked at my watch, or why I was even wearing a watch, because I HAVE NO IDEA!!

After the ceremony we had a receiving line in the vestibule of the church, then went outside amid flying birdseed and I somehow got a mouthful of it. I know, I know...I need to keep my mouth shut!

We took off in Ted's car with his brother Tim driving and Mary in the front seat too. Tim was honking the horn as we drove all over town. The guys had decorated the car, so of course we drew a lot of attention.

Now that I think about it, I can't remember the last time I heard horns honking after a couple got married. I suppose that's another tradition that's out of style, sigh.

We went back to the church after a short ride and posed for pictures. Fortunately it was not too hot or humid, so we were pretty comfortable. The photographer took sooooooooo many pictures! My cheeks actually began to hurt from all the smiling, but it was well worth it.

After the pictures, we were off to the reception. Fortunately we'd had cookies at the reception, and the bar was open, so everyone had had a chance to get a little something to eat and drink while they were waiting for us.

Back then we had a real band, not a deejay for the music and they weren't completely set up yet. They did it quietly while we all ate and talked. But the one thing that wasn't done back then, but is done now, is introducing the bridal party as they come in. I wish we had done that, but I never even thought of it, nor do I know who would have done it.

After we'd been at the reception for an hour or so, I really needed to go to the bathroom. Before I headed there, I was trying to think the process through and realized that I was not going to be able to accomplish this task on my own. Mary and Barb (a bridesmaid) came into the bathroom with me and held my dress up over my head so I could "relieve" myself. We were quite the sight! Fortunately the stall was big and we were all able to fit in there. They even held my dress up while I washed my hands in case there was water on the floor anywhere around. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them!

The food was wonderful, the band was great, and everyone had a super time at the reception. After the dancing, the bouquet toss, and the garter toss, it was time for us to leave. We made it out of the reception hall and had to stop at the my folks' house so I could change clothes. My mom was going to take my dress to the dry cleaners while we were gone.

We left their house, with Ted still in his tux, and me in jeans and a tee-shirt! We looked like a real mish-mash! When we got to our apartment, we were going in as our next door neighbors were coming home. The guy said, "It looks like you were in a wedding today!"

Ted said very simply, "I sure was....OURS!"

He congratulated us as we closed our apartment door and began our journey into marriage.

Happy 28th Anniversary Ted!

I love you so much!!