BUENA PARK : A Lesson in Love as Pair Renew Vows

When Dewain Barber was told Monday to kiss the bride, he raised a sombrero and shielded the peck from students who watched as Barber and his wife, Susan, renewed their wedding vows during a ceremony at Buena Park Junior High School.

While kissing is not permitted on campus, the Barbers, both teachers, received approval to sneak the smooch on school grounds.

After being married for 25 years and teaching in the Buena Park School District for 25 years, the two renewed their commitment before colleagues and students in an afternoon ceremony that was a surprise to the bride.

School Principal Ronald L. Barry officiated, district Supt. Jack Townsend gave away the bride, science teacher Don Wolf stood by as best man, and 30 other teachers served as bridesmaids.

“It’s a celebration recognizing our service in the district for 25 years,” Dewain Barber said. “It is also to recognize that we made a commitment to each other. Our students need to see that people do need to be committed.”

Barry echoed the sentiment, saying the message he wanted to convey to students is that “being married for 25 years or one year takes a certain amount of partnership. . . . Being married is not easy--nothing that is good is easy.”

Dewain Barber, 47, said he wanted to do something special for their wedding anniversary and figured a school ceremony would be different.

“I don’t know many people who celebrate their 25th anniversary at a school,” he said. “We have worked with the students and the staff. . . . This is our family because we have no children.”

A mariachi band serenaded the bride. Then she was escorted to the school office, where colleagues handed her a bouquet of white roses and magenta carnations and placed a wedding veil over her face.

In tears, Susan Barber, 46, said afterward: “I was in total shock and very surprised.”

Her husband turned to her after the ceremony and asked, “Did I do good, kid?” To which the bride responded, “You did wonderfully.”

The romance of the event touched the audience, including seventh-grader Kelly Christensen, 13, who caught the bouquet. “It’s neat that they love each other and share a friendship,” she said.

The Barbers have taught at the junior high for the last eight years. He teaches history; she teaches history and Spanish.

And while the pair car-pool to work from their home in Anaheim, they don’t see much of each other during the school day.

“I spend my lunch hour with the chess club,” Dewain Barber said.

He added that the secret to their marriage and their ability to work on the same campus is their willingness to forgive and forget.

“I think a lot of couples don’t fight fairly, and having tolerance and the willingness to forgive and move on is something that is difficult in any marriage,” he said. “But we’ve been successful in doing that.”