Every couple who want to celebrate their marriage through a wedding ceremony do so in their early age of marriage. It is not so for this couple which decided to wed after 35 years of unmarried bliss. They claim to do so, so that they can meet in heaven. David, 77, popped the question to Carolyn, 83, when she was moved to a hospice after having a stroke.
The bride and groom, who have 17 grandchildren and 25 great grandchildren between them, exchanged vows in front of 40 friends, family and fellow residents. The bride said it was ‘about time’ he got down on one knee, as she finally celebrated becoming Mrs. David. David, a retired delivery driver, said that although he has lived with Carolyn for the last 35 years, he believed the belated marriage would also unite them in heaven; ”I’ve considered myself married to her for all these years. That’s the way that I conducted myself. But I wanted to be with her in heaven too, and now we can be.”
The groom admitted that he waited so long to pop the question because he had already been divorced four times when he began dating Carolyn in 1983; ”The reason we didn’t get married before now was because it hadn’t worked for me in the past, I was afraid it wouldn’t work again. It took me a long time, but I finally got past that.”
The wedding is said to have been planned in just three days, with the help of friends, family and the hospice’s staff. David rented a tux for the big day, a local dress shop donated Carolyn’s black and gold wedding gown and a florist provided free floral arrangements. Staff members at the hospice baked a cake decorated with red roses, styled Carolyn’s hair and helped her with her manicure.
The blushing bride has three sets of twins and another child from a previous relationship. After the pair got married, groom David, a father-of-four, said that he hoped Carolyn would forgive him for not asking her to marry him earlier in life; ”I asked Carolyn to forgive me for us not getting married before.”