This is the second part of the “Earthquake Wedding” story. Read the first part here, covering October 16 through 18.
Thursday, October 19th
We reached the Los Gatos reception hall by phone. It is definitely out because of severe water damage to the floor. We begin calling other places and the Campbell Community Center has a large room available. We promise to be there early afternoon, CASH IN HAND, because we are talking about tomorrow night! Bob calls Megan about where the kids will stay Friday night after the wedding. We all agree that coming to Santa Cruz is not going to be easy. Megan takes care of it, making new arrangements. The Babbling Brook in Santa Cruz is open but kindly agrees to hold the reservations for a later date. Bad news about the refrigerator. The power is on but the vertical jolts jammed the compressor. It is stuck on defrost! We returned our neighbors’ food, threw most of ours out and added the refrigerator to the long list of things to be repaired or replaced.
About noon, Bob and I and Annie, the matron of honor, go to Los Gatos (via Hecker Pass) to reserve the place for the reception. It is wonderful! Even the walls and carpet are the wedding colors! Now we go to meet the grandparents who have arrived from Texas. We show up at their motel, towels in hand pleading for hot shower. We confirm new arrangements with Greenlees Bakery and all the friends who are helping with the food and decorations. Besides Greenlees, who initiated calls and checked with us, I should mention by name the Flower Ladies of Scotts Valley who went way beyond the necessary in delivering the flowers, beautiful and in time for photographs. I think they had to drive north to Half Moon Bay and come over Highway 84 or 92.
The Texas grandparents, bride and groom, parents and matron of honor go out to dinner to relax and get acquainted. The conversation is evenly divided between wedding and earthquake. Annie is staying with Juli so Bob and I drive home, Highway 9, I think.
Friday, October 20th
The grandparents make a decision to return to Texas on Sunday. They will come back later for an extended visit. Too many aftershocks. The hotel in Aptos is delighted to have the room released for displaced people.
Each of us from the Santa Cruz side of the hill drive separately on Highway 9 with our list of errands, (dog to kennel, pick up balloons, pick up arch, pick up ice cream, pick up, etc. etc.). Only George Bush (41) slowed us down. He was flying by helicopter from Los Gatos to Santa Cruz and the highway through Scotts Valley was closed for awhile. Wish I’d had a helicopter and crew. It would have been a big help.
So many friends helped with food – a delicious desert buffet – and decorations – lace and balloons and twinkly lights. We were prepared with flashlights in case of power failure but the wedding came off beautifully – a lovely “Cinderella” type of affair. Afterward there was good food, good music, good friends and good feelings. The women were right to go ahead in spite of the earthquake. Even now friends thank us for having that happy time to relax and rejoice between repairs and rebuilding.
Saturday, October 21st
We each came home via our “favorite” path – highway 152 or 129. We were a few days behind our neighbors in earthquake emotions but we were ready to catch up, pick up and help out. As I walked in the door carrying the cake top in a tin box along with a lot of other stuff, somehow things became unbalanced and the cake tin landed upside down on the floor. Everything else in the house was still upside down so it seemed a fitting end for the “Earthquake Wedding” of 1989.
In 2009, we remembered the earthquake as we celebrated the 20th Wedding Anniversary of Juli and Eric.
By Kathleen Vallerga (click here to go to part 1)
Remembering the Loma Prieta Earthquake 