Quite an Idyllic picture portraying not just the matrimony of two souls, but the gathering of tight-knit communities that presented throughout most Indonesian villages around this time, where families and friends lived closed by each other.
July 28, 1976 ~ Wedding of A1C (Airman 1st Class) Donald W. & Shari Davenport. Family photo of Groom’s parents and oldest younger brother, the Best Man (all from Illinois) with the Groom and Bride; and the Bride’s parents.
Location ~ Newport News City Park, Newport News, VA.
LariAnn and I went out on a couple of dates about a year after I got out of the Navy. Dixon was her maiden name. She was really a nice person to know, but I was somewhat stupid back then. I never followed-up with her. Our big date was when we went to the Copacabana in NYC and saw the newly-formed group,The Supremes (sans Diana Ross). This was in 1966! Great times back then. I just took a shot and Googled Bride’s Magazine for Aug/Sep 1966 today and viola, there she was. My friend called me back then to let me know that she was on the cover and the memory just crept back in recently. I never spoke with her again. Hope she had a happy life! Neal O'Connor.
The Wedding Party–A.1.C. Donald W. & Shari (Flythe) Davenport;Newport News City Park, Newport News, VA., Wednesday, July 28, 1976, 6:30P.M.
Left – Right -> Bridesmaid (Bride’s Cousin) Teresa G., Best Man (Groom’s Oldest Younger Brother) Kent D., Groom, Bride;Matron of Honor (Bride’s Best Friend From High School) Sheryl B.
The ladies - Bridesmaid and Matron of Honor - made (or had made) their dresses from Simplicity pattern #6888, from flock printed floral polyester fabric; (All patterns, fabrics, notions furnished by the Bride.) Color matched garden hats purchased from J.C. Penney’s store, local mall location.
Flowers for bridal party furnished by the Bride (who paid for the materials) and the Bride’s mother, who completed the work to make the poured ceramic baskets, which were stained and glazed to resemble hand woven straw baskets, and filled with dried flower arrangements, color-coordinated to the dresses for the Attendants, and to coordinate with the Groom’s shirt pattern colors for the Bride.
Our Wedding, Wednesday evening, 6:30 PM, July 28, 1976 – A.1.C. Donald W. & Shari (Flythe) Davenport, Newport News City Park, Newport News, VA. New Residence in Hampton, VA.
Groom is wearing the almost obligatory polyester Leisure Suit, with coordinating polyester shirt. No matter the heat-holding properties of polyester, this was still more comfortable for him than his Dress Blues uniform, which also would have been too formal for the occasion, which was held outdoors, in the early evening of a day in July in the mid-South, on the coast of the Chesapeake Bay!
Bride is wearing the iconic “Gunne Sax” by Jessica McClintock, all-white cotton blend with lace overlay on the Queen Anne neckline bodice and lower portion of the leg-o-mutton sleeves, and the corset laced bodice, with satin string. In the hairstyle, reminiscent of the Gibson Girl of the early 1900’s, a Baby’s Breath halo takes the place of a veil, which would have been not only impractical under the circumstances, but out of style with the dress, and the whole theme of the wedding.
Wedding Party - A.1.C. Donald W & Shari (Flythe) Davenport, Wednesday evening, July 28, 1976; Newport News City Park, Newport News, VA.
Bride and Groom - center - with Groom’s maternal Grandparents, Wilfred and Miriam Kirsch, of rural Fowler, IN, on the left; and Bride’s paternal Grandparents, Russell S. and Sarah Margaret Flythe, Newport News, VA, on the right