No wedding ever goes off perfectly, and two area women will testify that basing nuptials around the most romantic day on the calendar doesn’t help. But it doesn’t preclude a lifetime of happiness. Anne Simon, a Rotterdam resident, and her husband, Robert Vines, planned to get married in Virginia, but ended up at Rotterdam Town Hall in the wake of an ice storm. Anne, now 65, and Robert, nearly 70 years old, had both worked at the New York State Library in Albany, but being in two different departments only allowed them to become acquaintances. Ending up in the same six-month therapy group allowed them to grow closer and get to know each other. “The therapist said to us, ‘You two got the brass ring,’” Anne said.
The couple decided to marry along with Anne’s sister. The two weddings were set to take place in Virginia, with Anne’s sister being married on Saturday, February 12, 1994, and Anne and Robert marrying on Valentine’s Day two days later. “We wanted to get married on Valentine’s Day because Bob said he never wanted to forget our anniversary,” Anne said. The day Anne and Robert were set to board a plane for Virginia, a big ice storm was freezing their destination, along with Pennsylvania. A flight attendant told the couple they could fly them to Pittsburgh, Penn., but they’d be stranded once landing due to the storm. A Virginia wedding wouldn’t be happening on V-Day. “We figured we better not go,” Anne said. “We had to do some last minute rearrangements.” In searching for a quick solution, she said she called Eunice Esposito, then Rotterdam town clerk, to try and arrange a special appointment for the couple to get their marriage license. Esposito granted the expedited request, and the license was given on the Friday before the Monday wedding. But they almost missed the appointment too, because Robert’s daughter, Christy, got her car stuck in their snowy driveway. Christy was able to get the car out with little time to spare. “Thanks to her, we were married on Valentine’s Day at Town Hall with close local family members in attendance,” Anne said. “All of us then went to Glen Sanders Mansion for a lovely dinner accompanied by romantic music played by a harpist.” She said having a Valentine’s Day anniversary has the perk of restaurants already outfitted for a romantic dinner. “For us it is doubly romantic ‘cause it is our wedding anniversary and Valentine’s Day,” she said. “Every year when you go out for your weeding anniversary on Valentine’s Day they have the rose and musicians, it is already set up to be romantic.” Valentine’s Day also holds a special memory for Carole Chaisson of Scotia, even though she didn’t marry her husband, Thomas, on the holiday. The Scotia couple went to Village Hall on Valentine’s Day and received an unexpected gift upon purchasing their marriage license. “When we received our Valentine’s Day marriage license, we also got a basket of goodies such as canned vegetables, packaged soup mix and one item we laughed about later — aspirin,” Carole said. The aspirin is what stuck in her mind, she said, because she “got a kick out of it” and didn’t expect the box filled with goodies. Somebody at Village Hall had a good sense of humor, she said.
“Somebody must have made that up for Valentine’s Day … I have no idea, but that is what we received,” she said. One of Chaisson’s three sons, Patrick, joked he was a major reason they used so much aspirin.
She replied it wasn’t “always true” that Patrick was the cause for need of some relief.
The couple met in a local religious group and soon fell in love.
“There was a Catholic young adults group that met … it met at the old Hotel Van Curler that is now [Elston Hall at Schenectady County Community College] and that is where I met my husband,” she said. “Soon after that we were engaged and married.” The marriage on Feb. 23, 1963, also provided an unexpected memorable moment.
At the wedding, Chaisson backed into a candle and her wedding veil caught on fire, but she didn’t even notice. One of her co-workers at the wedding rushed over and pulled the veil off her head before any injuries or flaming hair could result. “I had no idea that all this is going on,” she said. “The bridal veil was very thin and flimsy … so he rushed over and pulled it and yanked it off my head … probably saved my life.” She said her husband, who passed away in November 2005, had a great sense of humor, which she said could help anyone have a long and loving marriage. “I have been really blessed with a wonderful life, I keep pinching myself,” she said.