Gulf War Penpals Married after Facebook Encounter - 19 Years Later!

Yes, I realize that I've been posting a lot about weddings & marriage for the last few posts. What can I say? They tug at my heartstrings and are wonderful.

This one is no exception. It's almost unbelievable...but it's true and amazing. You couldn't write such a tale:

Nearly two decades ago, when she was just 13, Jaime Benefit wrote a letter addressed to “Any Soldier” serving in the Persian Gulf War to express her support for the troops. Her letter found its way to Pfc. Jeremy Clayton, then 19, of the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. After becoming pen pals for a while, the two stopped writing. But Benefit always wondered what happened to Clayton, and this year, she found him on Facebook. They met in March and fell in love, and on July 15, they were married. “It was fate that I got her letter,” said Clayton, as was “her finding me 19 years later.” (from the Week)

> Read More about the Happy Couple. (NY Daily News)

Aww...I'd even go see that romantic comedy. And get this - "

The Internet may have brought the newlyweds together, but they still rely on good old pen and paper to keep their bond strong.

"She writes me notes every morning and puts them in my lunch," he said.

Childhood Sweethearts Wed... Almost 90 Years Later!

I love stories like this. Sweet, sublime and serendipitous.

They lived long lives...and came back to where they started. Here is their story:

Two childhood sweethearts have gotten married, 88 years after they first met. As third-graders at English Ridge Public School in Wisconsin in 1921, Roland McKitrick and Lorraine Beatty talked of how they would tie the knot one day. But they drifted apart and raised families of their own. Three years ago, after both had been widowed, they got back in touch through siblings. Last week, Roland, 93, told Lorraine, 92, that he needed to speak with her. “I thought, What have I done wrong?” she said. “He just said, ‘I want to ask you to marry me,’ and I said, ‘Go ahead.’” They were married three days later. (from the Week)

> Read more about them here at the Daily Herald

This is my favorite part from the Daily Herald:

For McKitrick, marrying Beatty marks the culmination of a lifelong love story.

He recalls a day, many years ago, when the two of them stood in the Wisconsin sunshine and talked about how one day, they would marry each other.

"I still picture her as my third-grade sweetheart. I've carried that in the back of my mind since that time," said McKitrick, who counts among his prized possessions a photograph taken of the two of them about that time.

"That snapshot stayed in my memory," he said, "and her face stayed in my memory."

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• Reunited Siblings Were Living Only 300 Yards Apart...
• Firefighter Meets Woman He Saved 40 Years Ago

Ultimate Wedding Dance Down the Aisle

A delightful and unexpected viral video of some newlyweds in Minnesota that choreographed their entrance down the aisle on their big day. I love the guests' reactions! Enjoy.



I also like that this video has been uploaded about a week or so ago and has been watched over four and a half million times!

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• Happy Couple Celebrates 70th Wedding Anniversary
• "Will You Marry Me?" - Statue of Liberty Proposal
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• The Evolution of Dance

"Will You Marry Me?" - Statue of Liberty Proposal

You may have heard recently that the crown in the Statue of Liberty just re-opened for visitors for the first time since September 11, 2001.

But you may not have heard that a couple (among the first in the re-opened crown)...have another reason to celebrate.



Look at the pictures in the story. I love the look on that woman's face.

> Read more about the proposal. (CNN)

Related Sublime Goodness Posts:

• Happy Couple Celebrates 70th Wedding Anniversary
• Fiancé Drops Engagement Ring Off Brooklyn Bridge...but Saves the Day

Fiancé Drops Engagement Ring Off Brooklyn Bridge....But Saves the Day.

What a wild story. What I like about it is that it's like a zany ending of a romantic comedy come to life! Don't be put off by that picture (which I think captures the moment perfectly!) - there is a happy ending :)

Don Walling planned the day with the precision of a classroom lesson. He would propose to his girlfriend, Gina Pellicani, on the Brooklyn Bridge’s pedestrian walkway. His family would be looking on and his sister-in-law would videotape the whole thing.

But at the moment of truth – with ring in hand – disaster struck, and it wasn’t because Gina refused to say, “I do.” Walling dropped the ring through a crack in the pedestrian bridge and into traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge roadway below.

“I got on one knee, proposed and it just flew out,” Walling said. “I watched it fall through the crack on the bridge, right between the wood planks.”

But he didn’t let his shock sway him for long. Walling swung into action.

“I kissed her, said I was sorry and told her I am going to get that ring back,” Walling said.

The groom-to-be jumped onto the bridge's roadway and began looking for the ring. Miraculously, he found it, with the help of his family and fiancée looking on from above.

Pellicani couldn’t wear the ring because the band bent in the fall, but the diamonds were intact -- not bad for falling onto traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge.

The ring is being repaired and will be restored to its former luster, but Walling said the next time he gives it to his fiancée, it will be in the safety of his home. (from NBC New York)

Watch a video recap from NBC:

Happy Couple Celebrates 70th Wedding Anniversary

A love that has endured for seventy years:

Helen and Curtis Howland got hitched on Jan. 7, 1939 in Wayland. They first met at a roller rink in Marlborough. "We've been going around together ever since," said Helen.

Nine children, 21 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren later, this bride and groom are still going strong. "I just keep saying we made it another year, dear," said Helen. "Want to try for another one?"

The happy couple says compromise makes a marriage last -- and spending time with family. "You don't see many who can make it to 70," said Helen and Curtis' daughter Maralyn McGillivray. "They live a long life, but to make it 70 years ... is amazing."

> Read more and watch a short video of the happy couple here

* Hat tip to happytweets for the story