Smiley Anders for July 29, 2009

• By SMILEY ANDERS
• Advocate columnist
• Published: Jul 29, 2009 - Page: 1B

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

Believe it or not, it was once possible to put on a wedding that did not cost as much as a luxury car.

Joe Guilbeau of Plaquemine says when he and wife Verlee were married 58 years ago, weddings in Acadiana were inexpensive.

He says that after the ceremony there were small informal receptions in Eunice, her hometown, and at his mother’s house, with cake and lemonade:

“That night our wedding dance was held at a public dance hall. The owner would pay to have wedding dances.

“To be paid was a mark of distinction and a measure of popularity. Large numbers of family and friends would attend — and, of course, there was a cover charge.

“The bridal couple would dance the first dance, the wedding party would dance the second one, and then it was a public dance.

“The band that night was Aldus Roger and the Lafayette Playboys. He was elected to the Cajun Music Hall of Fame in 1997.

“It was very simple. You didn’t have to rent a hall, hire a band, employ caterers — and no tuxedos.”

Too good to be true

I recently told of driving from downtown Baton Rouge to my office on Bluebonnet and experiencing no traffic-delaying wrecks, crazed drivers, tailgating 18-wheelers, etc.

Some readers figure there must be more to the story:

Dan Burkhalter, the Carencro Curmudgeon, says, “After reading of your idyllic trip to your office, I began to wonder if your editor knew you were working on Sunday.

“No way that ride was on a weekday …”