A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column asking people to tell us their wedding stories for our upcoming bridal edition. We have had some fun responses and I am really looking forward to seeing more wedding photos from across the years coming in. Several people have said they would love to have their wedding stories in the paper but they are not writers. No worries. Send us whatever you would like and let us help you write it.

My sister Ruth and her husband Rich will celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss this year. When I asked her to write about her wedding memories she said all she can remember about that day is that she couldn’t stop smiling.

I love that she said that because I have a very different memory of her wedding day. She got married on the hottest day in August that Pennsylvania had every seen. The evening before the wedding, there was a thunderstorm that knocked out the electricity at our house and caused the septic tank to swell and the sewer to back up in our basement. We had a house full of guests.

I was Ruth’s maid of honor and we had both made our own gowns. I distinctly remember sewing a hem the night before her wedding by the glow of a flashlight while my mother glared from the darkness while mentioning something about procrastination.

My dad, always resourceful, had a generator to get the power back on by the morning. We were expecting about 100 guests at our house between the wedding ceremony early in the day and the reception later in the evening. And there was the bride cleaning the basement floor on her wedding morning, while the rest of us were getting everything ready. We finally got pulled together and made it halfway to the church when we realized we forgot the wedding license at home. Luckily, Ruth’s husband-to-be knew us well enough to know she wasn’t keeping him waiting on purpose and we made it to the church before anyone had a chance to get too worried.

The ceremony was beautiful even as we sweltered in the heat, and we made it through the afternoon. At the reception in the evening there was dinner and dancing. It was going fine until the air conditioner shut down because of the unusally hot weather and the band said they couldn’t play anymore because of the heat. Finally, after a long day, Ruth and Rich headed to the honeymoon suite at a local hotel where they were met with an unmade bed and dirty towels. After a long, hot day, they had to wait for their room to be made up.

Ruth said she remembers all of that happening but not one thing could take the smile off her face. In spite of a rocky first day of marriage, Ruth and Rich have weathered plenty of ups and downs, raised two beautiful children and celebrated their life together for 30 years.

Everyone has a story. You might remember the funny things that happened or the sentimental things. Share your memories and send in your wedding photos for our special bridal edition. It will give us the chance to celebrate the stateof the union – your union with your spouse. Spread the love and send your stories and photos to jkangas@heartlandpublications.com