Signal Mountain residents Grady and Suzanne Nichols celebrate 60 years of marriage with a Kentucky Derby-themed party.Sixty years after marrying in a Kentucky church, Suzanne and Grady Nichols celebrated their decades of life together on the day of that state's most famous event: the Kentucky Derby. Suzanne donned her original wedding dress - which required a few alterations, she said with a laugh - and Grady wore a tux.
The couple matched their June 11, 1957, wedding photo displayed at the party.
The avid duplicate bridge players held their celebration at the Chattanooga Bridge Center, where they welcomed about 50 friends, many of whom are fellow Signal Mountain residents, Suzanne Nichols said.
The main table at the luncheon was decorated with Kentucky Derby glasses filled with red roses, a nod to the blanket of hundreds of such roses awarded to the winner of the race, dubbed the "Run for the Roses." A three-tier cake and napkins embellished with race horses further established the tie to "the most exciting two minutes in sports." The couple's guests would likely argue that the three hours of bridge they played following the party were just as enthralling as the big race.