Joan and Larry Davis celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with nearly 50 friends and relatives, in a special hybrid version of an anniversary party, suitable for this most unusual year: Using Zoom, the virtual meeting platform thatās become a mainstay during the pandemic, the Davisā set up seven Zoom calls between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m., for virtual reminiscing and toasts with their loved ones.
The Davises married on June 20, 1970. After the simple ceremony on a Saturday, the couple and guests gathered in the church basement for a reception; Joanās mother and other women from the church helped serve the meal.
This year, their 50th wedding anniversary also fell on a Saturday. The couple saw an opportunity.
āIām a real party person,ā says Joan. āI figure 50 is worth celebrating.ā
But the coupleās plans for a large gathering at West Dundeeās Bleuroot restaurant were scrapped once the COVID-19 pandemic ushered in new restrictions, making a large gathering nearly impossible. For a while, they held out hope that they could delay the party until August, but the couple soon realized that even August would likely be too soon.
As Zoom meetings suddenly became the standard for virtual face-to-face meetings, the Davisā started reimagining their anniversary celebration.
āI saw in the Tribune that people were getting married in the lockdown,ā says Joan. Having a party via Zoom seemed to be the answer to celebrating exactly on their anniversary day. āBut we were Zoom novices and we had to figure out how to set up the calls and send the links.ā
So on June 20, the party they never couldāve imagined just a few months ago became a reality.
Each hour, the Davises connected with circles of friends ranging from folks from their church, friends from Del Webb/Huntley, their wedding party, relatives, and three other couples the Davises met as newlyweds, when they lived on the Laredo Air Force base in Laredo, Tex. From their home, Larry and Joan sat in front of a backdrop decorated with anniversary decorations and a photo of their wedding day. Guests and well-wishers who popped in were from as close as Illinois and Wisconsin, all the way to Washington and even the Netherlands. Joanās parents even attended, participating in their first Zoom call ever at age 90.
āThere were a lot of laughs and reminiscing,ā says Joan. āWe got to see people we hadnāt seen or only saw once in a blue moon.ā
Since everyone wanted to toast the couple, Joan and Larry wisely toasted with tomato juice at the beginning, then moved on to wine as the day went on.
āWe were still coherent by the end,ā laughs Joan.
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