We didn’t know much about hosting a wedding but Florence got in touch with a catering company. She learned from them you could get a big discount on a reception hall if you hold the event on a day when nobody else does—specifically on Christmas day. We found out that was right when we visited the Paradise Theater, the movie palace on the Grand Concourse in the Bronx. 

Its beautiful mezzanine was a popular venue for weddings and bar mitzvahs in the Bronx. The manager said the space was very available on Christmas Day, and we could hire it out for half the cost of any other day. 

So that is why we got married on a Sunday, December 25, 1955. Rabbi Friedman, who knew Florence’s family in the Bronx, officiated. More than 100 friends and family members attended: friends of ours as a couple, her Bronx enclave community members, some Army pals, some friends from our years in the DP camps, and even a few from Skala. 

Most were still very poor and our haul in terms of wedding gifts was not too impressive. Still it was a wonderful occasion and a great way to launch our life as married partners.