October 20, 2017 (Friday)
Today at 5:30 p.m. the wedding party will gather in the lobby of the J. W. Marriott Houston Downtown Hotel for the wedding rehearsal. The wedding itself is set for tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. at the hotel. The couple being married are Sarah Portman and Alex Hamm. Sarah is the daughter of Mrs. Patricia and Mr. Pierre Portman. Alex is the son of Rick Hamm and our daughter Deborah Fake Hamm, who is with the Lord today.
The hotel has been created from an old bank building at Rusk and Main Streets. In 1946, when it was still a bank, I worked next door on Rusk, catercorner from the Gulf Building and the Esperson Building (long-time landmarks) as an usher in the Majestic Theater. I learned recently that my friend, Ken Garrett, worked there several years later. The theater opened in 1912, and has since been replaced by a gleaming glass tower that houses offices. I will be conducting the ceremony, using a small Bible that I purchased in 1948 at the Baptist Book Store, located at that time just a few blocks down Main Street from where the hotel stands today. For me, the area holds many memories, mainly of my teen-age years.
From now on, however, this part of Houston will be remembered as the place where Alex and Sarah married. We will all do our best to insure that it is a happy occasion that they will enjoy remembering, time and again, recalling their wedding and the joys of their love.