A Truly Golden 50th Anniversary

My wonderful parents met in college - having been seated at the same communal dining table. Dad was a bit of a rebel - a post-grad business major who grew up all over the world as a Navy brat with a beautiful French mother who could never quite say the word “aluminum.” Mom was a tightly-laced piano major, the daughter of a pastor - and engaged to someone else!

A few months later, the engagement off, mom and dad ran into each other walking on campus and dad sent her a note asking her out. They got engaged a little over a year later, just in time for dad to be drafted to go to Vietnam.

Their wedding in December 1970 was Christmas-themed and I had planned to do the same for their 50th anniversary celebration. Invitations were mailed and the final guest list confirmed - and then we were shut down due to Covid just one week before the party. I’ll admit that it was a tough pill to swallow, but so many had it worse that it was hard to feel sorry for ourselves. Instead, we just committed to rescheduling when it was safe to do so.

The Venue

We were excited to have The Engineer’s Club at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion as our venue. An 1850’s mansion just steps away from the Baltimore Washington Monument, it really needs no decoration at any time of year to be stunning.

The Invitations & Paper Goods

For the new date, I settled on a new theme, new invitations and florals. We had beautiful invitations with matching place cards, menu cards, a seating chart, and table numbers.

The Guest Book

My mom kept several things from her wedding - her guest book with hand-written memories and newspaper clippings was one of them. Guests were welcomed and invited to sign this vintage book, then ushered into the fabulous library for the cocktail hour.

The Cocktail Hour

The Wedding Gown & Memory Table

I chose the cocktail hour in the library to display wedding memories. Many of the original wedding portraits were faded with age, but I was able to restore them with Photoshop and I had a number of them reprinted for display.

I anchored the memory table with a large floral displace in a gold compote. The table was covered with a champagne gold satin tablecloth as well as beaded and appliquéd fabric that I draped over top.

My mother’s original wedding gown - an Alfred Angelo peau de soie A-line gown with high beaded neckline - had been preserved decades ago. I knew I wanted to display it, but when I opened the box, my heart sank. Although supposedly preserved, the gown had not been properly cleaned first. The hem was black from dirt from the reception floor. Worse still was the beading, which over 50 years had oxidized to an unflattering brown color. I must have called every gown restoration company in the state and was not given much hope of restoration, but I decided to try anyway!

I found a gown maker who specializes in beading and she agreed to take on the task of replacing all of the discolored beading as long as I did the research to find the appropriate replacements. The lovely ladies at Bead Soup in Savage Mill came to my rescue and helped me to find the perfect crystals.

With the oxidized beading of the gown replaced, I called on Parkway Custom Drycleaning. I knew I needed specialists in vintage gown repair and these artists had done a beautiful job on my own wedding gown some years ago, so they were my first choice.

The gown restoration was a significant investment and we could have had a beautiful party without it, but the look on my mom’s face when she saw her restored gown made everything worth it and will remain one of my fondest memories.

The Cake

The cake was a true labor of love. I considered duplicating my parents’ original wedding cake from 1970 as it was quite stunning. While I had their cake topper, it had yellowed a good bit, and so instead, I chose to display it under a glass cloche with a framed portrait and go in a new direction.

I created a five tier cake, representing five decades, and gilded it in gold to match the incredible decor of the mansion. The flavors I mostly kept the same. Their original cake was white with lemon filling. For this golden anniversary cake, I made a white velvet cake covered in lemon buttercream and fondant with alternating lemon curd and raspberry filling between the layers.

I designed a custom monogram to match the fonts on the invitation and cut it with my Cricut Explore 2, then painted it in edible gold.

The Music

By training and trade, I am a collaborative pianist and classical vocal coach. I spend my days surrounded by beautiful music and talented singers. It was a joy and pleasure to have world-class artists perform throughout the evening. We had performances by Metropolitan Opera baritone, Trevor Scheunemann, and world-renowned soprano Colleen Daly. Together we presented selected operatic arias as well as favorites from My Fair Lady, Showboat, and South Pacific.

Also on piano throughout the evening, was the consummate jazz pianist, Jonathan Waller.

Ending the music performances for the evening was a special tribute to my parents - Gershwin’s “Embraceable You” played by my brother, Rob Puckett, on violin.

The meal at the club was exceptional beginning to end. We dined on cream of crab soup, a duo of stuffed shrimp & filet with béarnaise sauce, asparagus, and garlic mashed potatoes. The service at the Club was impeccable. Beyond just having a meal, though, we wanted to personalize this evening in a way that told our guests more about my parents. Music has always been an important aspect of our family life, so interspersing performances throughout the evening was our way to do that.

*My parents with dad’s siblings and their spouses*

My parents have given my brother and I a lifetime of love. They worked hard our entire lives to give us everything that we could ever need. Celebrating and honoring them at this incredible milestone is something we will never regret.

All Photography: Lauren Nievod Photography
Venue: The Engineer’s Club at the Garrett-Jacobs Mansion
Florals: Ann’s Garden Belair
Invitations & Paper Goods Design: Flower Fields Paperie
Invitation & Paper Goods Printing: Paper in the Park
Hair & Makeup: Ali Pohanka