鈥淏ut just four days before the wedding, a call came. 鈥淪orry, we have to observe state mourning and there can be no celebrations here next weekend.鈥澨 Vicky has lived abroad all her adult life but is now retired from working for UNICEF. She now lives with her husband, who is Iranian, in Oxford and says they鈥檙e finding it fascinating living in England again. They have 3 children 鈥 2 of whom live in the US so they keep the airlines in business! 鈥淲eddings are a milestone in anyone鈥檚 life but mine had so many unexpected twists and turns that I thought it might be entertaining for others!鈥澨 鈥淜ennedy鈥檚 been shot!鈥 Like almost everyone, I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard the news.
I felt it as an almost personal blow, but it didn鈥檛 occur to me then that the President鈥檚 death would really change my life. My fianc茅 and I were due to be married 10 days鈥 later in the military officers鈥 club in San Francisco. The setting was perfect for a wedding 鈥 a miniature country house nestled among the woods in the Presidio above the bay. So that weekend as all the drama of Jack Ruby shooting Oswald played out on television, we went to make the final arrangements. The mess officer assured us that Kennedy鈥檚 assassination would not affect our wedding plans. But just four days before the wedding, a call came. 鈥淪orry, we have to observe state mourning and there can be no celebrations here next weekend.鈥澨 Now what?
My father and sister were coming from England, my fiance鈥檚 sister was flying in from Denmark, and at least 60 guests had already accepted the invitation. We were on student incomes, so our options were limited. With the yellow pages open, we drove up and down the San Francisco hills, searching desperately for a possible venue that was (a) available and (b) affordable. Three of my fianc茅鈥檚 family were with us in the car, everyone giving different conflicting advice. Eventually we fetched up outside a catering firm that had a large room for hire. My fianc茅 said 鈥淕o in and settle on it if it鈥檚 at all possible. You鈥檇 better not come out and discuss it or there'll be more arguments.鈥 So there and then I ordered the cake and other food, worked out the timings, arranged for the seating, discussed flowers and hoped I'd thought of everything! Luckily, the staff were very helpful and took everything in their stride. On the day, however, Murphy鈥檚 law prevailed. My sister-in-law got lost parking her car so we had to hold up the ceremony until she was found. My brother-in-law, who'd offered to arrange the music, had problems in the new venue and so wasn't watching what was going on...A loud blast of 鈥楬ere comes the bride鈥 came just as we were about to say 鈥業 do鈥. O, and I was married in bare feet. Someone had gone off with the key of the room where my wedding shoes were stored. Of course in the end it turned out to be a happy day with plenty of fun and laughter but there are no photographs to remember it by - My fiance鈥檚 friend, who claimed to be an expert photographer, took several rolls, but all the heads were missing. (Apparently he didn鈥檛 see the frame in the viewfinder of the borrowed camera.) And political events also had an impact on wedding plans in the next generation.
Our son was married thousands of feet up in the air flying between Dubai and Kabul鈥 鈥ut that鈥檚 another story. | 
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