The best day to tie the knot

/ May 24, 2014
On my dresser, to greet me in the morning and send me off to sleep.

On my dresser, to greet me in the morning and send me off to sleep.

The fall day had dawned gray when we jumped in the car and drove west from Syracuse.

I wore my new suit pants but carefully arranged the jacket on a hanger in the back. She changed into her beautiful dress in the bathroom of a Kentucky Fried Chicken down the block from City Hall, earning gasps and claps from lunchtime patrons upon her emergence back into the lobby.

The city clerk heard our vows. His assistant not only was our witness, but our photographer, too. It was very romantic.

The best day of my life was when we eloped to Niagara Falls, N.Y., and the beloved woman in my life became my dear wife Karen.

We sat in the car out front afterward and called our kids on our cell phones with the news. Daryl and Elisabeth both responded with happiness and a bit of “what-took-you-so-long.”

We drove across the border for a one-night honeymoon on the Canadian side. The Falls are much more beautiful from their view, and so is their city. I promised Karen while pulling up that I’d be cool to the guard, but immediately blurted to his “why are …” question, “We just got married!” He smiled, handed me our passports, and waved us through.

We walked the town, admired a Wonder of the World, ate dinner at a quaint local restaurant by the name of The Love Boat — yes, that was a find that made me grin — and appreciated a fine DoubleTree resort hotel.

This was The Best Day of My Life, beating out a whole bunch of Great Days in My Life.

Thanks to Mommyx4boys for issuing this writing challenge.

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53 thoughts on “The best day to tie the knot”

    • Thanks so much, Mrs. B. That decision to elope to Niagara Falls worked very well for us, indeed! I hope you and Mr. B and daughter B are having a fine holiday weekend. 🙂 The last before her graduation, right?!

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  6. how wonderful and what lovely pictures to greet you each new day. this is a fantastic memory and i can see why it is your favorite day. beautiful post, mark.

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  7. Awwwww Mark, I love the romance in this. THe happiness of the day, the clapping in KFC, the smiling guard and the most important….. The commitment of that greatest day. 🙂 Thank you for sharing it.

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  9. Any time the Love Boat can be a part of your wedding day, you know your future holds great things in store. I hope they said, “Come aboard, we’re expecting you” when you walked up to the host stand. But seriously, this must be the day of wedding days! My cousin’s anniversary is today, as well as some church friends, so 5/24 must have a special power. Congrats to you both! Is it 9 yrs now or still 8?

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    • We were married on a fall day, so all the other lucky folks in your life can bask in the glory of this beautiful 5/24.

      Karen and I just shared a great chuckle from your “come aboard” comment, Kerbey, so thank you so much for you wise humor.

      When we went back for anniversary five last fall, The Love Boat was closed! We were crushed, but went to eat at Jimmy Buffett’s Margaritaville. I had a Cheeseburger in Paradise and a Molson that they called a cheaper domestic beer, and Karen had a Margarita the size of her head, and we were just fine.

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  11. My first wife and I got married in Jaffa, Israel (1979). The ceremony was performed by a Baptist Minister from Oklahoma in a Presbyterian Church which was maintained by Missionaries from Sweden.
    There were two witnesses: (Co-workers of ours from Sinai Field Mission).

    Twenty minutes before the ceremony, My soon-to-be-bride and I were hitting all the jewelry stores on Dizengoff Street looking for wedding rings. Could not find ones that fit.
    The clerks always had the same response:

    “No problem; I can have it resized and you may pick it up tomorrow.”
    We anxiously explained, “But we are getting married in just a few minutes.”

    Jewish weddings are a great big hairy deal, so naturally, we were met with gasps of shocked amazement when we announced this while standing in stores in Tel Aviv.

    We finally, at the last minute and the last shoppe, settled for two plain gold bands (which did not fit)
    Then we got hitched.

    My bride was wearing a black dress and I was in blue jeans.
    I gave the Okie preacher fifty bucks.

    The marriage didn’t stick, but we remain friends to this day.

    Very lovely Story Mark.
    I truly enjoyed it.

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    • And thank you for sharing your story here, too, Lance. Did you get to step on glasses after the I do’s to keep the Jewish tradition? I was best man in a Jewish tradition wedding and the rabbi winked at me when I saw that he was putting light bulbs under the cloth instead of glasses, for better sound effect.

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  15. What a lovely story, Mark! Thanks for sharing about your special day and your very special wife. Well done, my friend. 🙂

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