George and Shirley...40 Years of Adventure!

Happy 40th Anniversary!

1975-2015

This Friday, November 13, 2015 will be George and Shirley Hatfield's 40th Wedding Anniversary. We will be in Disneyland on that day...big shocker! We thought about taking a trip somewhere different this year...Disney World...but my heart is loyal to that cute and cozy little California park. It's hard to believe we've been together for so many years. I feel so lucky that I found the man of my dreams sitting next to me in Junior English at American Fork High School. He didn't know it then, but I had no intention of ever letting him get away. How is it that 40 years have flown by so fast? Before you know it, we'll be one of those cute little old couples celebrating their Golden Anniversary surrounded by their children and grandchildren. We may even have a couple of "greats" by then...who knows?

Anyone who has followed my blog for any length of time knows that I also use this forum to write my personal and family histories.  I hope that my family will enjoy this post...and I hope that you will too.  This story starts with...

The Proposal...

Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon.

One summer day in 1975, when George and I had been dating for about three years, he took me on a date up Provo Canyon.  He said we were going on a little hike, but to wear something nice.  That seemed a bit suspicious.  My devious little brain thought..."I'll bet he's going to propose today!  Yay!" When he pulled into the parking lot at the base of Bridal Veil Falls, I was certain of it.  George thinks that he is the king of subtlety, but "Bridal Veil Falls" was a bit too on the nose.  And why did he bring a camera and take pictures of us on the trail?  But I had been wrong before...it was best to wait and see.

The trail ended where the water cascaded into a pool.  It was such a pretty sight with the sun shining on the mist.  That was where he finally made it official.  I breathed a sigh of delighted relief!  What a wonderful...and quite romantic...day!

George in his long-hair days.

He thought this date would be a big "surprise."

Not really a surprise...I suspected this all along!

Engagement...

The "official" engagement photo.

George's older brother, Ron, took us out to Hobble Creek Golf Course for an engagement photo shoot. The golf course sits at the base of the mountain near Springville, Utah, and was so beautiful that time of year. It was early autumn and the leaves were starting to change color. Ron took dozens of nice shots, but this one was my favorite!  I just noticed this...George was wearing that same shirt and vest on our "pop the question" day! I wore my favorite white eyelet dress I made for the Military Ball the past winter. Don't tell George, but when I made the dress, I hoped it (being white) would give him matrimonial ideas.

Wedding Invitation.

Another cute couple from our invitations!

The Daily Herald wedding announcement.

November 9, 1975

 Wedding Day...

Alpine Country Club

The wedding and reception were held at the Alpine Country Club, here in Highland, Utah. We weren't members...my dad had a second job there as a custodian, and I worked there as a waitress. The big benefit was that we got to use the venue for free and the catering was at cost. Another big plus in my eyes...the decor was already red and white, my wedding colors!

We didn't have a professional photographer, we had a family friend take the pictures. Though not ideal...many were a bit blurry or dark...I am just so grateful to have pictures. Most of the reception is a bit blurry in my mind. There is a lot I don't remember.

Mr. and Mrs. George Emerson Hatfield

"With this ring..."

My LDS Bishop, Dennis Durfey,  presided over the ceremony.

"You may kiss the bride!"

"Annie's Song"...our wedding theme.

We didn't have our ceremony in the temple at this time and I didn't want to walk down the aisle to "Here Comes the Bride." Instead, we asked a neighbor of George's who happened to be a professor of music at BYU  to play our wedding theme..."Annie's Song" by John Denver. I have loved his music since I was in high school. All the reception background music was from my collection of John Denver albums.

Bridesmaids...Nancy Nicholes, and sisters Patti, Sandy and Lisa Devey.

I made my own wedding dress and most of the bridesmaids' dresses. When I saw the prices of wedding dresses for one of my daughters' weddings, I almost fainted! I thought my dress was beautiful and it only cost me $30 to make. In my opinion veils were cliche, so I spent $25 on a lacy, floppy-brim hat from ZCMI Department Store. The bridesmaids' dresses were red and white gingham trimmed with lace. George's mother had a new-fangled top-of-the-line sewing machine that she graciously let me use.  It was less stressful to sew at her house while she was at work.  It can be hard to concentrate with houseful of younger brothers and sisters making a racket...lol!

Thomas A. and Rhea Lee Gray Devey.

My parents.

Joseph and Colleen Rae Pullman Ovard.

George's mother and step-father.

Our cake and the bride doll made by Grandma Patta.

I think George's Aunt Elaine Pullman made the cake.

The bride doll made by my Grandma Patta wore a dress and hat identical to my own...right down to the lace trim. I don't know how she did it, but she found a 1/4" inch lace that matched my two inch lace perfectly.She was such a talented seamstress...the ball gowns she made for some of her dolls would make a Victorian socialite swoon with envy.  

I wish I still had my bride's bouquet. Ever practical, George insisted the bouquets be silk and dried flowers so we could keep them forever. Mine was lost after we moved to Germany, but my mother had one or two of my sisters' bouquets.

My Trousseau.

I didn't have a big trousseau...my job at Allen's Super Save grocery store...paid only $2.50 an hour. But I had been making fun things and putting them away in my graduation "Hope Chest." Notice the red and white apple canisters? Do you know how hard it was to find the color red in the 70's? Remember the kitchen colors of harvest gold, olive green, and orange and all the mushroom accessories? Tacky! My kitchen was going to be red and white with black wrought iron accents.

The quilt on the left was the one my Grandma Zetta helped me make. She said it was time I learned to put a quilt on the frame. She helped me pick out the fabric...a polyester and cotton blend. We tied the layers together with yarn...there wasn't time to learned fancy quilting...and then she showed me how to bind the edges.  She was a practical woman, but the lesson stayed with me for life...and the quilt as well.  It's been 40 years and Amber still uses it.  Polyester is forever!

The Honeymoon...

The Getaway Car!

After the reception we tried to sneak away before any mischief could be done to my cute little bug, but we were too late. I had successfully dodged my waitress friends who planned to "kidnap" me and drive me around town for an hour or two. But the car was buried in shaving cream...thanks to my brother Mike. Our first stop as newlyweds was the car wash downtown. We stayed overnight in a hotel in Provo, then headed out at first light for a trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. The weather was mild, and the autumn days were pretty, but George was a little disappointed by the amount of smog in the canyon.  We hope to return there later this month...it's been 40 years since our last visit.  We've visited the South Rim several times in the last few years.

The North Rim of the Grand Canyon.

Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim.

Mr. Hatfield

Mrs. Hatfield

Home Sweet Home...

Our first home...a cozy little mobile home on 400 East in American Fork.

The honeymoon was very brief...just a long weekend. We had to be home by Monday for work and school. I didn't mind though, we had a living room stacked with wedding presents just waiting to be opened! Such fun! I wasn't thrilled with whoever gave us a Chia Pet, but George thought it was cool. Even more fun was exchanging 3 of the 4 crock pots for an iron and a new John Denver album!

We got the best wedding gift ever...two weeks after our honeymoon I discovered I was expecting.  I blame it on the waterbed in the Thunderbird Hotel...lol!

One Year Later...

The Salt Lake Temple at Christmas!

One year later, on December 17, 1976, George and I and our baby daughter Amber were sealed together as a family for Time and All Eternity in the Salt Lake LDS Temple. I am so grateful for the blessings of the temple that made us a "Forever Family." Forty years of marriage isn't a lot of time in God's reckoning, but I am looking forward to spending the rest of eternity together.  

This is our story...

Note:  I had a few paragraph formatting issues...please excuse the excessive text centering.