NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A 50th wedding anniversary is worth celebrating. The way one couple got married is truly a part of the Nashville story. Their special memories may just bring back good memories for you too.
"Look at the ruffles on that shirt," laughed Emily Wright as husband Lynn flipped through their wedding album.
"Looks like my carnation's catching on fire, but it's not," Lynn answered. "Everybody tried to look like Elvis back then. Our grandkids are getting to see pictures no others get to see of their grandparents."
Back in 1972, Lynn was working at Opryland.
"I was Johnny Guitar, out there the first four years," said Lynn, remembering the tall costumed walking guitar he used to play at the park. "It was one of the best jobs I've ever had."
The couple was engaged when Lynn's boss had an idea. Why not have them be the first couple to be married at Opryland with the park characters in the wedding party? Lynn loved the idea. Emily, however, had reservations.
"Y'all are crazy!" she laughed. "I'm not doing that!"
A compromise. Emily would go for it just as long as Lynn wasn't in the Johnny Guitar costume.
"She said I'm not marrying a costume," Lynn remembered.
"Your mother's supposed to be crying when you get married, and she was just dying laughing!" said Emily, thinking back to the Opryland costume characters walking everyone out to the wedding site in the park. "A lady in the crowd said, 'is this for real?' I said, 'yes, ma'am. This is really my wedding!"
Emily said it all turned out amazing.
"There's Yancy Banjo, Frankie Fiddle, Delilah Dulcimer, and Barney Bass," said Lynn, pointing to the costumed characters in a picture.
Opryland remained a very special place for Emily and Lynn. It closed in 1997.
"It was almost like a death in the family," said Lynn. "It was such a special place in our heart."
"It was devastating," Emily added.
For Emily and Lynn, this month marks the 50-year anniversary of the first Opryland wedding.
"I'd do it again!" laughed Emily before turning to Lynn. "You're supposed to say I would too!"
"We've really got a lot of great memories here," Lynn said. "Very proud of it."
