September is becoming the most popular wedding month. A wedding at HarborChase of Villages Crossing added to that statistic when residents Connie Towler, 83, and Chuck Houser, 86, tied the knot Saturday in front of family, friends and staff members.
The couple met at HarborChase. Chuck was already a resident, and as he tells it, he was attending the in-house Sunday church service when he saw “a cute little blonde lady” come in. He introduced himself to Connie and found out that she had just moved down from the Boston area and was not very familiar with Florida.
“I offered to show her around Florida,” Chuck said.
They soon discovered they had many common interests.
“We like to go see shows and we both love food, especially oysters and lobster,” Chuck said.
A veteran, Chuck was aboard the October 2017 Villages Honor Flight to Washington D.C. Both Chuck and Connie are active volunteers with Honor Flight. They have also taken many trips with Senior Adventures.
Chuck got turned down the first time he proposed. Both Chuck and Connie had been married before.
“I just really hadn’t thought about getting married again,” said Connie. “And I wanted to get to know him better.”
Chuck continued to propose over the two years they dated.
“I probably asked her at least five or six times,” he said.
Finally, Connie decided the time was right and a wedding was planned.
The HarborChase staff became part of the wedding. Janice Gray, director of sales, sang “Ava Maria” and Wellness Coordinator Gayle Haywood, a former caterer, made the cake, which was trimmed in purple. That’s Connie’s favorite color and also the one she selected for her dress and the flowers.
Wedding officiant Dr. Mershon confirmed to the gathered guests during the vows and ring ceremony that the couple had completed their pre-marriage counseling.
Immediately following the traditional cutting of the cake, the couple headed out for a honeymoon cruise.
