(Mom recounts details of her double wedding at this point - they were married in a double ceremony on December 22, 1951 with Doris Howell and J.D Early. Also, I never knew that my uncle Howard was my dad's best man. That was neat to learn! And Mom still talks about the person not showing up to play for the wedding.)
We were
very excited as we began getting ready for our wedding. Mama took me to
Spartanburg and bought me a beautiful navy blue suit. Doris also wore navy blue
and we both wore white hats. Gene and J.D. wore navy blue suits also. We had
pictures made and had beautiful gladiolas and walked on white sheets. Gene’s
pastor, Rev. Robert Shephard, married us and my sister, Louise, was my maid of
honor. Gene’s brother, Howard, was his best man. We had a scare on Friday night
during the rehearsal. The person who was supposed to play the music at our
wedding did not show up, so we had to find someone. We asked Miss
Patricia Neal and she graciously consented to do it. Bobby Dean Hall sang “I
Love you truly” and “The Lord’s Prayer”. They did very well and everything
turned out wonderful. I need to add that our fathers gave us away. We were on
cloud nine and were in love.
After
our wedding, mama cooked a lot of food for everyone to eat. She cooked meats,
vegetables, and desserts. She was a good cook! She went to a lot of trouble
because she loved us.
