EDITOR’S NOTE:— Watch KOMO-TV video of the wedding, below
PORT ANGELES –– “Love is patient,” Pastor Mark Weatherford read from 1 Corinthians 13:4 in Cock-a-doodle Doughnuts.
Boy, howdy.
In a quick ceremony Friday morning in the doughnut shop’s lobby, Weatherford of Eastern Hills Community Church in Carlsborg married 90-year-old Gladys Salley and 93-year-old Andy Nilles.
“At our age, minutes count,” Salley, who is keeping her surname, said of the speedy nuptials.
The couple — wearing caps emblazoned with the words “bride” and “groom” — kissed, fed each other apple fritters and signed their official marriage license before hopping into Nilles’ 2007 Chevrolet HHR for a honeymoon drive to Leavenworth.
Nilles leaned over and kissed his new bride as the car pulled away from the fans waving goodbye from the curb.
“You keep romance alive,” Port Angeles Mayor Cherie Kidd told the couple.
They first met in that car two years ago, when Nilles was called down to the lobby of the Vintage senior apartment complex in Sequim to drive Salley to the doctor.
On Friday, it sat outside Cock-a-doodle’s front door at 105 E. Front St. with a cluster of tin cans tied to the bumper and newlywed well-wishes scrawled on the windows.
Cock-a-doodle Doughnut is Salley’s favorite sweet shop.
She fell in love with the place’s apple fritters when she made numerous trips to the state Department of Licensing office in Port Angeles to get an ID card after moving to Sequim in 2008.
Since then, she’s made Andy drive her 16 miles to pick up the deep-fried apple treats.
Cock-a-doodle owner Dana Page made up a special 1-pound heart-shaped apple fritter for the happy couple’s special day.
The baker’s dozen of friends and family at the ceremony also feasted on fritters.
Undeterred by a skiff of snow on Stevens Pass, Nilles drove the couple to Leavenworth, where they planned to tour and visit family on the honeymoon.
“I’m an Eastern Washington boy. A little snow doesn’t scare me,” Nilles said.
When they return, they’ll move in together in Salley’s third-floor apartment in the Vintage. Nilles will keep his first-floor flat for another month.
“A little closer to heaven,” Nilles said. “Half the reason I’m getting married is to get rid of that walk.”
He met her upstairs Friday morning before the ceremony, to the shock of Salley’s granddaughter, Jada Jack.
“I told her we’re too old for that superstition,” Salley said.
“We’ve seen it all.”
Both have been married before.
Salley was married for 52 years to her late husband, Fred, who died in 1996. They had two daughters, one of whom died just before Fred.
She quit working at the age of 82. She did secretarial work in Louisiana.
Nilles was married twice before. His second wife died in 2002. He has three sons and one daughter.
Salley is keeping her name, she said.
“It takes too long. If it took a week to get my ID, how long would it take to change my name?”
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Joe Smillie can be reached at 360-681-2390, ext. 5052, or at jsmillie@peninsuladailynews.com.
KOMO video link: http://www.komonews.com/home/video/Hes-93-shes-90-Couple-weds-in-Port-Angeles-225591332.html?tab=video&c=y
