Connie & Garry - 26 years

Happy 26th Wedding Anniversary Connie & Garry!

I swear it took these two love birds 10 years to decide to marry each other.   Garry jokingly said to me less than a year after they were married, "If I'd have only known how great it is to be married to your sister, I'd have married her many years ago."  Connie was almost 34 when they married and she knew what kind of wedding she wanted:  Simple!  I watched her try on several wedding dresses and she always came back to the most simple and affordable one.  And look how gorgeous she looks!  She wanted to honor Garry's farming career so the flowers and decorations were stalks of wheat.

There were no rented tuxedos for this wedding and Joan picked out her own bridesmaid dress.  

This is how the Stan & Bertha Kopczynski family looked back in October of 1986.

This is a rare picture of my Dad, and his siblings and their spouses.  It's just unusual that they were all together for this wedding and sat still long enough for the picture.  I think it speaks to how much they all thought of Connie and believed in the success of her marriage.

Beginning at the left:  Bernard and Maxine, Stan and Bertha, Mary and Les Reed, George and Ruth, Uncle John and Aunt Johanna Engel, Gus and Celestine, Ray and Bethe, Jake and Gertie and Doriene and Joe Jacobs.  Everyone has gone to heaven except Joe and Doriene.  There were 12 children in my Dad's family and all ten survivors were present at this wedding.  My aunts Alvina Wimer and Claire Sager deceased previously.  Notice the quilt hanging behind them.  Back in those days my Mom organized a friendship quilt and we all made blocks that she sewed together and then hand quilted for the bride and groom.

So this marriage, like most, has had many challenges - financial worries, health concerns, and different body temperatures!  Today is also the feast of St. Francis of Assisi and I know the date and the saint mean something to this couple.  St. Francis, lived lightly, with a childlike soul.  He danced and sang in the streets.  He embraced simplicity and non-violence.  He treasured creatures and vulnerable beings.  I think Connie and Garry have modeled their marriage after him - the simplicity, the singing and the way they treasure the vulnerable, children and old people.  Blessings to you this day!