New vows in N. Hempstead for long-married couples

Valentine's Day has always been extra special for Ann and Frank Vendinello because they were married soon afterward on Feb. 16, 1957.

During a pre-Valentine's ceremony at the Harbor Links Golf Course in Port Washington Friday morning, the Vendinellos renewed their vows with 11 other couples married more than 50 years.

The Vendinellos, of Williston Park, met at a dance. Frank, now 81, asked Ann, 75, out for coffee. "That's how square I was," he said. "I didn't say a drink."

Town of North Hempstead Clerk Leslie Gross donned a black robe to lead the group candlelight ceremony after each couple walked down the aisle. She said town officials hope to make it an annual event.

Gross said she drew on her own marriage of 35 years to write the words she shared: "You joined your lives together in search of something greater and richer."

She reminded the couples that Friday's ceremony wouldn't be legally binding and "not filed anywhere but in our hearts and in our minds."

Nick and Rose Capobianco, both 88, sat in the first row, holding hands. Their wedding was Oct. 18, 1942, making them the longest-married couple in the group.

"Don't ask me how we did it, because I don't know," Rose Capobianco said with a laugh. "We really don't know how all the years went by."

Part of the secret to a long marriage is friendship, Nick Capobianco said. "I've called her 'pal' since the day we got married," he said.

After the couples kissed to end the ceremony, he took his wife by the hand and said, "Let's go, pal." They joined the group for a buffet lunch and wedding cake.

Angela and Gene Katz brought to the ceremony a picture of their wedding in 1950. Angela, 78, recalled the newlyweds renting two rooms in Sunnyside, Queens, for $54 a month before settling in Port Washington.

Ron and Helen Lockman said Friday's ceremony was meaningful because their 1954 wedding took place in New Jersey and they were able to renew their vows where they spent most of their married years.

During the ceremony, Gross had urged the couples to always kiss before going to bed. The Lockmans say their bedtime smooch is the reason they've been married so long.

Reaching the marriage milestone

There are 60,439,000 married women in the United States, according to 2004 U.S. Census data. Following are the percentages of those women whose marriages reached milestone anniversary years:

81.1 percent - 5 years

52.5 percent - 15 years

33.3 percent - 25 years

5.9 percent - 50 years