Where it all started

July 13, 1974, the day Mary Ellen Cole said “I do” to John Angelo Garbarino.

Pictured here are my parents on their wedding day. Look how innocent and young they are with their whole lives ahead of them. My mom was only 18 years old on this day and my dad probably not even 22 or 23. They probably had no idea that there would be good times and bad times ahead, that eventually they would have four mouths to feed and put through college, and that one day they would have a beautiful house to care for. This day was a beautiful start to a beautiful life for many.

I had a conversation one day with my mom way back in the very beginning of the planning stages when I was feeling slightly overwhelmed by it all and she reminded me of something I had forgotten. She reminded me that I didn’t need to have all the hoopla and that I could get married in a dive bar if that’s what I wanted. She reminded me that all that mattered for my wedding day was what I wanted and not what everyone else wanted. She reminded me that people love me and that no matter what they would be happy for me. And lastly, she reminded me that 36 years ago her and my father had had a simple wedding that didn’t require spending astronomical amounts of money and it was perfect.

My point is that my parents didn’t need buckets full of money to throw an extravagant wedding to prove to the world that they were in love. Their love has been proven to the world through the four wonderful (maybe a little biased) children that they have raised, the beautiful home in which they have created together, and a loving marriage of 35 plus years.

I hope my marriage will possess half of the strong qualities in a marriage that my parents have subjected me too since before I was even born into this world. As I have grown older I have realized that I have taken for granted my upbringing in a non-broken home and realized that for others it wasn’t always so easy. I am grateful that my parents continue to live by the “For Better or For Worse” vow that they made to each other on that perfect day of July 13, 1974.

Mary Ellen and John's four children - pictured here at youngest daughter Whitney's wedding in June 2010