I was rummaging through some storage boxes the other day and found something interesting.
In May, 1983, Lisa and I took our wedding announcement information and photo to the offices of The Daily Spectrum in Cedar City, Utah to have our wedding announcement added to their paper. A few days later, we got a phone call from the Daily Spectrum asking us if we would like to be featured in their Bride and Groom special edition. Lisa and I were both a bit surprised, but thought, “why not”? This year marks 33 years that we’ve been married; marrying Lisa is the best decision I’ve ever made! I love you, Lisa!
Here is the text of the article:
Lisa and Steven believe in love that grows stronger
By Sheena Oyler
Staff Writer
The Daily Spectrum / Iron County Record
June 5, 1983
CEDAR CITY – June is a month of romance and union, a time to be in love and a time to proclaim that love through marriage.
Love has been described in many forms and fashions through-out the ages, but to Steven R. Sharp and Lisa Ann Wright, who plan to exchange vows on June 11 in the St. George LDS Temple, the emotion needs no explanation.
To watch them would tend to make anyone giddy and more than a little envious.
Lisa, 17, daughter of Barbara and Lawrence Wright of Enoch; and Steve, 24, son of Joy and Ralph Sharp of Cedar City, were selected by the Spectrum to represent the many southern Utah couples who choose the traditional month of June to the knot.
They met in May of 1982 but didn’t date seriously until November.
“We liked each other before that but I was young,” Lisa said. “Then, one day in November, I went over to his apartment to listen to some albums and we’ve been together every day since.”
Unplanned proposal
The couple became engaged on February 13 in what turned out to be an unplanned proposal and acceptance.
“I was taking her home from a date in my dad’s truck,” Steven said.
“He was quiet for a moment, so I asked him what he was thinking about,” Lisa said, “and he answered, ‘Have you ever thought about getting married?’”
Lisa, more than a little surprised but happy to hear his thought, replied that she had. Following a discussion of ideals concerning what makes a good husband and what makes a good wife, Steve popped the question.
Both agreed their love was not the instant type but rather the kind that grows stronger day by day.
“My dad asked me when I fell in love with Steve. I answered, ‘I grew into it.’ We have a very special kind of love. All we want to do is be together,” Lisa said. “We can tell each other anything. He understands me and I understand him. It’s like we are one person with two bodies.”
Lisa is the second of eight children and the first of the girls in her family to leave home. This, along with the fact she only just graduated from high school, gave her parents some reservations about the engagement in the beginning. But as in all romantic tales, love ends up being the deciding force.
Requested financial statement
Lisa’s mother, however, did manage to edge a practical element into the engagement by reserving her blessing pending the issuance of a financial statement by Steve.
“She did this to make sure I made enough money to support Lisa,” Steve said, “I had to give her a list of my income versus my bills and to tell you the truth the outcome was borderline.”
“I know the exercise really made him stop and think,” Barbara said, “because after that he moved out of his apartment and back home to save money.”
In addition, Steve recently found new employment with better family benefits and the couple will be living rent free at the College View Apartments because Steve secured a position as manager there.
Lisa’s father said it is hard to think about his daughter leaving home, “But, as they say, I am not losing a daughter, I’m gaining a son. I hoped she would go to school for a year before getting married but I guess when you meet the right person everything else is secondary and I’m certainly glad they found one another,” Larry said.
Future plans
As it turns out, Lisa plans to attend cosmetology school in the fall while Steve continues his education in business at Southern Utah State College. As a future goal, Steve would like to attend the Utah Technical College to gain experience in commercial art. Right now, he is an accomplished calligrapher, a talent he utilized to design the couple’s wedding announcements.
The couple had originally planned for an August wedding with all the trimmings, but upon deliberation, they opted for a June marriage so “we could spend the summer together before starting school,” Lisa said.
Along with the earlier date the pair decided not to have a reception.
“Neither of us were that hot on the idea anyway,” Lisa said. “Right now I’m glad we aren’t having one because I would be so worried about getting everything ready.”
In place of the reception the parents of the couple will host a luncheon in their honor, following the wedding, at the Enoch LDS Chapel. In addition, Lisa’s grandparents, Glen R. and Dorothy Wright, are hosting an open house for the newlyweds at their home in Provo.
An elaborate wedding gown has also been stricken from this couple’s list of priorities.
No expensive gown
“Since we will be married in the temple and aren’t having a reception I didn’t really see the point in buying an expensive wedding gown,” Lisa said.
In place of the traditional frills, a friend of Lisa’s made her a special temple dress and the young bride purchased a cream colored knee length dress complete with lace and ribbons to wear at the luncheon and open house.
Keeping with the tradition of wearing something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue, Lisa plans to wear a string of pearls given to her by her grandmother.
Following the wedding, the couple will honeymoon in Salt Lake City. “We plan to spend time at the Hogle Zoo and Lagoon,” Lisa said.
Starting out with each other and a few basic necessities the couple plans to enjoy their first year of marriage together before thinking of family expansion.
“We want to have children,” Lisa said, “but we are going to play it by ear. I want to be able to stay home with my family and have dinner ready for my husband each evening when he comes home from work. Some people don’t like to stay home but I do.”
“I want Lisa to do what ever make her the happiest. If she wants to work she can and if she doesn’t want to then she doesn’t have to,” Steve said. “I plan to always treat my wife with respect. She deserves to be treated like a queen and my goal is to treat her like one.”
“I know everyone slips up sometimes when they get depressed but I know he will never do anything to hurt me,” Lisa said.
And here are photos I took of that edition:
