Don and I were married on Sunday, June 12, 1994. We live in San Francisco, but our families reside in the New York City area. We decided to have our wedding there, making for some interesting wedding planning.

The day was lovely, and the reception held in the garden of the home of my father and his wife, Marilyn, was a wonderful time for family members and friends to join together in celebration — many meeting for the first time.

There was a sad note to the day for me. My Grandma Ruth, had died just seven months before. I wished, as I danced a bridal dance with Grandpa Sam, that Grandma could be with us to celebrate the day.

My Aunt Alline and Uncle Larry knew I would be thinking about her, and no doubt had their own private thoughts about her that day. It was by receipt of their wedding gifts to us that we discovered they'd found a wonderful way to include her in the wedding party.

Inside the beautifully decorated box in which they placed gifts to us, there was a gold and white framed photo of Grandma Ruth and Grandpa Sam, dressed in white — a snapshot of them on their wedding day in Rhode Island in August 1938.

We received many generous and thoughtful gifts that day, but the photo of my grandparents on their wedding day is one I will treasure forever.