Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, January 14, 1992 TAG: 9201140104
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
DOWN THE ALLEY OF HAPPINESS
The bride wore an elegant gown, accented by a pair of bowling shoes. Cradling a bowling ball, she headed down the lanes, not aisle, at Triangle Bowling in Christiansburg.Not to be restricted by traditional wedding conventions, Liz KATHLEEN WILSON McGrath and her intended, Jason Throckmorton, chose the alley not taken.
The Dec. 27 nuptials started out traditionally enough, with a ceremony and dinner for family at the Best Western in Christianburg. But the couple pulled out all the stops later at the bowling alley, reserving six lanes.
Liz arrived in her gown, donned her shoes and simply knotted her train around her waist to get in to the spirit of things.
You do only wear it once, so you might as well get as much use out of it as you possibly can.
Liz's brother Joe described his sister as a "devil-may-care intellectual."
As far as McGrath family nuptials go, this had been Joe's favorite, as his other two sisters went the traditional route opting for secular weddings in hotels and ballrooms and other such less imaginative locations.
"Besides," Joe pointed out, "they let us take the place over until 3 a.m."
While a bowling-alley reception might seem out of the mainstream for such a romantic, lifetime commitment sort of occasion, Triangle's manager Tim Simpkins says not so. Just two weeks before the McGrath-Throckmorton event, Karen Hutchinson and Michael Still chose the location not only to host a party but to exchange their vows as well.
The couple, who had met at Triangle Lanes, could think of no better place to tie the knot. They brought 30 of their closest friends, a minister, a cake, a covered dish supper - and all the accouterments of bowling, of course.
Out of the solemnity of the occasion, those uninvited guests who just happened to be bowling put aside their strikes and open frames to pay witness to Karen and Michael's nuptials and "I do's" firsthand.
Saving the very best holiday party for last was Jeri Bowman of Radford. She did the smart thing and avoided the December party crush, throwing a Twelfth Night party instead to close the holiday season on Jan. 5.
Jeri wins the award for the best food and the most class. It took three days to prepare the spread of homemade food, including cherry tomatoes stuffed with Gorgonzola, homemade shortbread, chicken pate and a Middle Eastern tray with hummus and tabouli with toasted pita bread to dip.
The hostess herself caused quite a stir garbed in a Bob Mackie dazzling ecru gown - just like Cher and Carol Burnett wear. And like anyone hostessing such a glamourous event, she lazed on a chaise in the front parlor, a room lit only by candles, receiving her guests.
Her guests were as interesting as her home. Attending were Katherine Neville, author of the 1988 historical mystery "The Eight," and her companion Karl Pribram, a Radford University Eminent Scholar and internationally known brain scientist.
(A guest pointed him out to me as "that guy who looks just like God.")
Katherine was wearing one of those you've-gotta-have-it sweaters which, alas, came from Venice. It was a copy of a Picasso painting. Karl, she says, bought it for her in a shop where they craft sweaters out of world-famous paintings.
But how much was it? I had to have one.
"Well, I was being paid in German money and we had to translate that into Italian currency . . . ," Karl tried to explain, trailing off.
In other words, he never told me how much.
"I did so want her to wear it on the `Today' show," he added wistfully. Unfortunately, the studio lights were too hot for a sweater.
Betty Jones experienced the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, all with one mouthful of the Twelfth Night cake. Her slice contained the bean that ordained her Queen of Twelfth Night, supposedly entitling her to rule the evening and get just about anything she wanted.
Poor Betty just wanted one measly thing: Jeri Bowman's Mercedes.
Betty learned that evening royalty and power just aren't all they're cracked up to be.
One more December leftover: Yvonne Vaught of Roanoke turned 70 at a surprise party at Poages Mill Church of the Brethren on Dec. 14. More than 50 of her friends turned out to pay tribute to and roast the woman many hadn't seen in 20 or 30 years.
Guests were asked to fill out cards with their favorite memory of Yvonne.
The best came from her own son-in-law, Dawson Crews, who to this day remembers Yvonne flogging him with a broom when he'd return her daughter Elaine late from a date.
THE PARTY LINE: Are you having a Super Bowl party on the 26th? If so, free-lanceMingling columnist Kathleen Wilson might be able to stop by. Dial 981-3434; whenasked for the mailbox, dial MING (6464) and press the # key. Then leave a mess- age as directed.
Or, if you prefer, mail invitations in care of the Features Dept., Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491.