Shirley Talbot to James Palmer Kelley
8 October 1949
Pleasantville, New York

“I haven’t even thought about that in so long,” Shirley Kelley told me when I asked about remembrances of her wedding day almost 60 years ago. “I was 19 and just barely out of the Nancy Drew stage! I suppose I had very romantic expectations—you know, ‘the two of us together against the world’—the feeling that you have a soul mate. Maybe it was all just an illusion.”

L.E. (Elle) Udaykee to Philip Henry Trapkin
12 October 2002
Atlanta, Georgia

“It was the second time around for me—and Philip had been married before—so we wanted to plan something relaxed and fun,” Elle Trapkin shared about their light-hearted, elegant backyard picnic wedding five years earlier where friends and family gathered for a joyful evening. “We were inspired by the artistry of Theron and Rajni’s wedding,” she said of her son and his wife’s wedding in Wales earlier that summer.

Elle and Philip brought back more than creative ideas from their trip to Wales. “We got our wedding rings there made from Welsh gold—they were magically golden we were told!”

Magically golden describes the “spilling out of love” as guests shared stories and memories and toasts—including Philip’s two flower girl daughters, Madison and Lily, ages ten and seven at the time.

“The moment for me was walking down our driveway and Philip coming to meet me—the look on his face filled the day for me, it was like I disappeared and all that was left was love,” Elle said. So the rest of the day was like a “public proclamation from my heart, a ritual of a joyful community sharing the abundance of our love.”

Catherine Elizabeth Creagh to Jeffrey Charles Stewart
27 May 1994
Doe Island, Bluffton, South Carolina

The bride Catherine and her sisters Susie and Ceci.

Catherine and Jeff were both archaeologists and had worked on many projects together. At the time they were planning their wedding, he was working on a "dig" near Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Catherine's family had vacationed on Doe Island near there for years. "We both loved the out of doors and loved the low country so having our wedding outside in that area was perfect," Catherine shared when reminiscing about her wedding day.

"I don't know why, but I remember humorous things about the day," Catherine said. "Right before the pastor was to pronounce us 'man and wife', a gnat got under my veil. And it really seemed to be bothering Jeff, he kept looking at it. But instead of waiting until he lifted my veil to let it go, Jeff took his fingers and just squashed it under my veil!"

Catherine laughed as she continued: "And my mom was more nervous than I was; I had never seen her that way, she's usually so collected, so her anxiety became humorous to me. When we went to pick up the cake, she was swaying so much as she carried it, I was sure that it was going to be ruined!" Sometimes laughter is what keeps our emotions more in balance during times that could otherwise be stressful.

"But the best memory is that when the ceremony was all over, I had this wonderful warm feeling, knowing that I would be with this man for the rest of my life! "

[Read more about Creagh family weddings in this issue!]

Susan Elrod to George Gadsby Creagh
29 June 1968
Murfreesboro, Tennessee

“I felt George and I were meant for each other,” Susan Elrod Creagh said. “I had dated quite extensively in Nashville where I grew up—I dated several young men before I met George. We were introduced by a mutual friend although George was quite well-known in Tennessee as an amateur golfer.”

Susan and George dated for awhile after he was out of the Navy, then he was leaving Nashville to go on a golf tour. “When he told me about leaving on the tour—as though I was going with him—I told him that didn’t give me much time to plan a wedding! (I wasn’t going anywhere without being married.) So to this day, George tells the story that I proposed to him!”

The couple honeymooned in three exotic Florida locations, including the famous Palm Bay Club in Miami, and George played in golf tournaments in all three locales!

[See Susan’s story of her daughter Susie’s wedding in this issue!]