 | | | Alfred and Catherine Belluomini in 2012. Photo Cathy Dausman
| | | | | | "The century has changed," notes Catherine Zunino Belluomini, since her marriage at 19 to Alfred Belluomini, but their marriage continues. The Moraga couple celebrates their 60th wedding anniversary next week with a family luncheon for 28 guests in Lafayette. Quite a different scene from the day they spoke their vows. Married at St. Frances de Sales church in Oakland, the couple was greeted by 1400 guests at the brand new Colombo Club. The Italian social club was so new, the bride worried it might not be finished in time to hold their reception. But hold it, they did.
There were so many people at Colombo Club's first wedding reception it required two dinner sittings to accommodate everyone. Dining was downstairs, drinking and dancing was upstairs, with second floor wraparound balconies for guests to keep an eye on each other. By today's standards, the Belluomini's guest list might be considered unweildy, but being raised in two local Italian families, it was just standard procedure. "Everybody was invited," said Alfred. That included parents and children, cousins, grandparents, even work friends. But not all the wedding guests mingled easily. Alfred explains that their parents were first generation Italian Americans, and each married someone who spoke the same dialect. But Catherine was from Northern Italy and spoke Genovese dialect, while Alfred, from Luca, spoke a Tuscan dialect. By the third generation, Alfred laughs, "they were marrying non-Italians!"
The couple met at the Ali Baba nightclub in Oakland, where Catherine emphasizes "there was never any trouble!" "I liked what I saw," says Alfred of his wife. He became a structural engineer, working for Bethlehem Steel; she worked at Merritt Business College. They raised three children and now enjoy three grandchildren. Their marriage was founded on common ground: "family, food and religion." Marriage, they say, changes with the times. They advise prospective couples to "give and take" and to expect changes every 10 years or so.
They seem to have taken their own advice, as well, because the Belluominis also formally celebrated their 25th, 40th and 50th anniversaries, and they have the 8x10 photos to prove it! Asked if they plan to stick around for an encore 75th anniversary celebration, Catherine smiles and admits "my sister has asked about that!"
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA