Sixteen lovebirds renew their vows

Lauren Vane

The first time Harry Cossman and Ann Sabina said their vows it was

1949 in a small wedding ceremony at Sabina’s home in Pittsburgh.

Twenty-five years ago, they renewed their vows in Hawaii.

Thursday, after 56 years of marriage, Cossman, 83, and Sabina, 77,

of Newport Beach, decided to celebrate their love again, this time in

a much more public setting.

Sabina -- who is still keeping her own name -- and Cossman were

among eight couples who participated in the Orange County Fair’s

annual Golden Wedding ceremony, proving that love can blossom

anywhere, even amid a backdrop of carnival rides and fried foods.

“It’s just cute,” onlooker Tammie Clinton of Westminster said.

“It’s cute to see them, that’s all.”

The Golden Wedding ceremony takes place at the fair each year,

providing couples who’ve been married for 50 years or more a chance

to do it all over again. Complete with cake, a champagne toast and

the wedding waltz, the ceremony cuts no corners. Couples even come

away with a certificate of remarriage. Peggy LaCroix and her daughter

Jolie, 19, of Yorba Linda, gushed as Peggy’s parents, Harry and Betty

Carpenter, cuddled on stage.

“They’re the most in-love couple, ever!” Jolie said.

The Carpenters, married 55 years, first met at a roller-skating

rink, LaCroix said.

Edmund Warner, a pastor at the Orangewood Children’s Home in

Orange, has presided over the ceremony for eight years.

Warner kicked off Thursday’s celebration by asking each couple to

divulge their secrets to a long and healthy marriage. Many couples

cited strong faith and open communication as reasons for success.

“It’s had its ups and downs,” said Carmen Aguilar, 74, of her

54-year marriage to husband Joseph, 72. “You have to learn to talk to

one another.”

Warner -- suited up for the occasion in a white top hat and tails

-- said he always enjoys hearing each couple’s story about their

successful marriage.

“It’s been a joy to see the sincerity when they’re sharing,”

Warner said. “It’s simple but beautiful.”

Harry and Kathryn Rathbourn of Fountain Valley, who will soon

celebrate their 74th wedding anniversary, met as teenagers in a dance

hall in Ocean Park.

Harry, 97, and Kathryn, 92, were the longest-married couple to

participate in Thursday’s ceremony.

“I thought he was the best guy in the world, and he still is,”

Kathryn said.

When it came time to recit the vows, each couple stood, gazed into

one another’s eyes and held hands like teenagers, as they repeated

Warner’s words.

The ceremony concluded with a dance for the brides and grooms,

followed by a helping of the one ingredient essential to any

memorable wedding ceremony -- cake.