/raf't6( stifee41/45 ove The Timeless Love® collection from Shifrin Jewelers is an extraordinary collection of fine Diamond bridal sets, solitaires, wedding and anniversary bands all backed by the country's most complete warranty. We guarantee your Diamond purchase will increase in value, and protect your Diamond(s) against breaking, chipping and loss from their mounting for life. Visit your local Shifrin store for complete warranty details and experience the beauty of each piece in the Timeless Love® collection. Quality for quality you will not find a better value anywhere! 27 LOCATIONS • Call 1-800-662-5524 for one near you! SINCE 192 f) AAA Members SAVE 20% on regularly priced items and an extra 10% on sale items. JEWELERS Give Your Marble New Life Both new and older marble needs professional care to look its best and to maintain its value. MARBLELIFE professionals use proprietary technologies to restore, preserve and seal marble, terrazzo and other dimensional stone; bring out its natural beauty, color and sheen; and provide a lustrous finish. MARBLELIFE Experts n Marble Restoration & Preservation (313) 459-6870 FREE ESTIMATES • Radisson on the Lake Waditional or Contemporary... Your Home Should be "Futuristic." Makers of Custom Cabinetry and Fine Furniture 4329 Normandy Court a Royal Oak, MI 48073 82 • JAN JAI-CY/FEB R JA KY 1 904 • Silt I JE ■ (313) 549-6300 THE BRIDE SCRIBE (continued from page 81) Were Brady to write up her own "Vows," it might read something like this: Few would imagine that love-story columnist Lois Brady could have had such a miserable love life of her own, but for years, she was plagued by nightmarish blind dates and unrequited love affairs. Then, when she was 28 years old and spending the summer in a rented house in the Hamptons with three other New York women, her sister introduced her to architect Tom Van Allen. Of theirfirst date, which commenced on the beach and wound up in a bar in Sag Har- bor 15 hours later, Ms. Brady recalls.. "I was not instantly, madly in love; but in the first 10 min- utes, I knew that was it " About a year later, while 110 guests watched, the two were married at the Dune Church in Southampton, Long Island. The bridesmaids' dresses, which the bride, hoping to save her at- tendants money, had purchased off a depart- ment store sales rack, were hot pink and designed to fit no human form. At the Sag Har- bor hotel where the reception was held, the floor, which had recently been refinished, stained the hem of the bridal gown. As the band broke into its final set with tunes such as "Rambling Rose" and "I Will Follow You," Ms. Brady sat deject- edly on the couch with her father. " Ifelt as though I'd given the worst party I could ever give. I couldn't wait for it to be over." If s important to note, first, that Brady has a wonderful marriage despite her dismal wed- ding; and, second, that the story of her nup- tials is definitely not column material. "Vows" is hopeful and optimistic. "Vows" is happy endings. "Vows" reassures readers that even in these chaotic times, people— no matter how old— are still falling very deeply in love. The most popular "Vows" story of all time embodies that positive spirit perfectly. Brady began with the characteristic provocative open- er: "Tall, blond and graceful, Cheryl Lee Ter- ry looks more like an Ivory soap model than someone who reads palms and numerology charts ..." Terry, who writes a numerology column for ELL E magazine, had received an eerily accurate prediction from another nu- merologist Although then madly in love, she would not meet her true soul mate until later in life. Sure enough, at age 40, she met and married shipping executive Gerard Potter, 49. Her marriage, she said a few days after her re- ception, which was held in a friend's art-filled Park Avenue apartment, reminded her of what she must often tell some clients: "Sometimes ... it's going to come late for you. But then I tell them that over 40— that is absolutely the best time to fall in love!" I I Anne Bennett Swingle is a Maryland writer.