It was 50 years ago to the day and almost to the hour when Jo and D.R. Butler celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Hilton Inn on King Street, on Dec. 11, 2004. The Butlers, long-time residents of Mount Vernon, had been married at her aunt's home in Austin, Texas on a Saturday night. It was the only time the minister, the chaplain at Prairie View College and pastor of a local church, was available.
The 50th anniversary party started a year and a half ago as a trip to New Orleans. "We'd never been, so I thought that would be a good idea," said Jo Butler. Her two younger daughters had other ideas.
Kathy Butler Jourdan had started an events planning business in Texas. "Every time I visited," said Jo Butler, "she would show me invitations and pictures but the real decision was made when we went to the funeral of an old friend. I decided that the next time I saw old friends, it would be for a happy reason."
According to Jo Butler, planning is the key. Betsy Jones, catering manager with the Hilton Inn on King Street and organizer of her parent's 50th wedding anniversary, agrees. "Most of your guests are in the 60-80 age range. The goal is making both the couple and their guests happy and comfortable."
She recommends beginning early to assemble a guest list. Often old friends have lost touch although the Internet makes it easier to find people.
Invite all of the families. Some will not be able to come but 50 years is a record and in many ways is a piece of history for the younger generation. Ask for and assemble antidotes and photos from everyone.
THE BUTLER DAUGHTERS added a Web site that provided hotel information as well as maps for guests.
Finally, said Jones, pace the actual day. Consider what the honorees can do. For example, the opportunity to greet each guest may be better while seated at a table than in the usual receiving line.
What to wear is the next question.
The dress is a more personal matter. With a smile on her face, Jo Butler tells on coming home from the office on Thursday to open the Neiman's catalogue and seeing the dress. "I went out to Tyson's to see if it was a beautiful as I thought" she recalled. The dress was but wearing it took a search of Neiman's from New Jersey to Chicago to find the right size and then "I had to wait until a hold expired."
For Jo Butler, as she looks back on her day, her most cherished moment came when she walked into the breath-taking, all-white ballroom to see friends — from all the times and experiences of their lives — sitting and talking if they had known each other forever.