11. The Wedding
August 14, 1965. Betty and I were married by her former pastor in his church in Pittsburgh, PA.
Betty was a beautiful vision walking down the aisle on the arm of her father. I was so nervous I could hardly get the ring on her finger! The organist played Blue Hawaii as we walked together down the aisle.
My parents and aunt drove down from Michigan for the wedding. My cousin Michael Howe was Best Man. Edith Ressler, Betty’s friend from college, was Maid of Honor. Jim Davis, Betty’s brother and Terry Davis, a cousin, rounded out the wedding party.
At the reception, we had a wedding cake and a birthday cake for Betty.
Michael and Jim had the car festooned with streamers, and with cans dragging, we were driven home to change, and then to our motel at the airport, to be ready for the flight to Hawaii next day.
For our honeymoon trip, I purchased a little battery-operated record player and two LP records. The music and a bottle of champaign were our treat for our wedding night at the motel. After a taste of champaign, I gave the bottle to my dad. We learned later that he put it in the trunk of their car where it exploded on the drive back to Michigan. 🙂
The next day, off to Hawaii. What we thought would be an exciting one year honeymoon teaching at the University of Hawaii, Hilo campus, turned into unexpected adventures!