Red, white and blue 'I do'

Lizz Abrahams knew at age 5 that she would one day get married on America’s birthday.

And she did. Just like her great-grandparents, her grandparents, her parents and an uncle did before her.

Family gatherings celebrating wedding anniversaries and Independence Day are some of Abrahams’ earliest memories.

“Every year on the Fourth is just a huge family get-together,” said Abrahams, who was Lizz Wininger while growing up in Blair, Neb. “I just knew when I was a little girl that I wanted to be part of it, too.”

On July 4, 2006 — a Tuesday — Lizz, now 25, married Brian Abrahams, 26. The Omaha couple had a traditional wedding in West Point, Neb., the groom’s hometown. The celebration included a nod to the America’s-day timing. Blue roses on the cake made note of the holiday. And guests took a breather from dancing during the reception to watch the nearby city fireworks.

Lizz and Brian Abrahams’ ceremony was 90 years to the day after the family’s first July 4 wedding, in 1916. On that Tuesday, Thomas Wininger married Bessie Sircoulomb.

Many records from that era are lost. But the family knows that Thomas Wininger owned a dry-cleaning business and called his wife Jimmy and that the couple picked the popular holiday for their ceremony to accommodate family and friends who lived and worked on farms. The two were married for 54 years.

Their son, Darrell Wininger, made July 4 weddings a tradition when he married Ardith Felton, now 83, on Independence Day 1947. The two met on a church camp-bound bus that Darrell Wininger, a longtime Peru State College professor, was driving. A few weeks later, he proposed. They were married for 42 years, until his death nearly 20 years ago.

Darrell Wininger Jr., their son, married Patty Francois on July 4, 1975. The two had met at a dance a couple of years earlier. Like his daughter Lizz, the 56-year-old Darrell Wininger Jr. always knew what day he’d be married on. It was a pleasant surprise, however, to his future wife.

Like Lizz and Brian, Patty and Darrell had a traditional wedding but included some holiday touches. Patty’s wedding dress, for example, had red, white and blue velvet bows at the bottom. Patty’s bridesmaids wore red dresses. And at the reception, red candles decorated the tables and tiny U.S. flags adorned the cake.

Years later, Patty Wininger, 55, still hears from friends who remember her wedding anniversary.

“It’s probably the only time in their lives they’ll be at a Fourth of July wedding,” she said.

In addition to all the family tradition that goes along with July 4, Darrell Wininger Jr. likes that date for another reason: “You can’t forget the anniversary and get in trouble with your wife,” he said.

On July 4, 1980, Dwight “Doc” Wininger, Darrell’s brother, tied the knot with Mary Lyn Alberts, who was a longtime secretary for Tom Osborne in the Nebraska football office.

Patty and Darrell Wininger’s 21-year-old son, Nick, hopes to get married on a July 4, too. First, his mom said, he needs a girlfriend.

The parents agreed, though, that it won’t be a big deal if their son picks a different day. A future daughter-in-law, they understand, might not be as enthusiastic about marrying on a major holiday.

Today, more than 40 people are expected at Patty and Darrell Wininger’s Blair home. The all-day celebration includes swimming, volleyball, barbecue, fireworks and, of course, wedding anniversary cake.

Contact the writer:

444-3198, chip.olsen@owh.com