There was a cake, and a bouquet was tossed
By Kelly Velocci, Packet Media Group
It was a hot and steamy July day in 1951 when Betty Marino married Arthur in Paterson, New Jersey.
“The flowers were half-dead when we got to the church,” Ms. Marino said.
During the reception, Mr. Marino said, they ran out of food.
Yet, the Marinos thrived and recently celebrated their 62nd wedding anniversary.
“Where has the time gone?” he said.
The Marinos and fellow Senior Club A members reminisced about their wedding days Friday, June 28, during the group’s “Wedding Belles” event in the senior activity room at the Municipal Building.
The group shared happy memories from the “big day” and stories about their lives with their spouses.
“I had three weddings to the same man,” Mollie Zezulinski said.
She met her husband-to-be, Thomas, while he was in the Navy during World War II. When she turned 18, they eloped because her family didn’t approve of her marrying a Catholic man, she said.
Ms. Zezulinski said their second wedding was a Catholic ceremony for her husband, followed by a Jewish ceremony, honoring her religion, in 1996.
“He said once we’ve been married 50 years, we’ll get married by a rabbi,” Ms. Zezulinski recalled.
Ms. Zezulinski brought her 50th wedding anniversary photo album to share with the group.
“When I lost my husband, I lost my best friend,” she said.
He died of cancer in May 2007.
Paul Solomayer said he didn’t remember much from his wedding day in 1961, but he said he vividly remembered when he knew he would marry his future wife. Mr. Solomayer recalled seeing his future wife, Maureen, stepping off a public bus as he drove by, honking at her and knowing she was “the one.”
He brought his wedding album of black-and-white photos and the receipt from his wife’s wedding dress, purchased from a bridal shop in Jersey City.
About 12 attendees shared stories from their wedding days — like running out of food and celebrating into the early hours of the morning.
Club members’ wedding photos and albums were displayed on a table for fellow attendees to guess who was in each picture.
As club members stood one by one, sharing their memories, they munched on a mock wedding cake. Members shared laughs as they told stories many of them could relate to. In traditional wedding fashion, the members partook in the throwing of the bouquet.