Renew vows on national TV

NEW YORK - Former Cresco residents Helen and Emory Westcott were on the first segment of Missed Milestones featured by the “Today Show.” It aired on Tuesday, June 29.

“I get daily e-mail feeds from the ‘Today Show,’” explained Helen. “They wanted people to write in about what milestone they missed during the pandemic.”

Well, the Westcotts missed a big one! They had been planning on having a nice big dinner with family for their 50th anniversary on June 20, 2020. Obviously get-togethers were out of the question last year.

“I filled out the form on a whim,” she recalled. “I told Emory that I thought my wedding dress still fit.” She tried it on, and it did! “I told him to put on his black suit, and we put our camera on a ladder and took pictures until we found one that worked.” 

She sent in that picture, along with their wedding picture and a write-up about the milestone they missed.

A few weeks later, a producer called and asked some questions. A couple days after that, their children (Amy of Ankeny, Iowa; Cathy of Iowa City; and Christopher of California) were contacted. 

“They decided to go with our story. They sent a producer and camera crew here (their Ankeny home for the past five years). We were going to renew our vows on the Plaza. They flew us to New York on Monday.

On Tuesday morning, the Westcotts were kept in the Saturday Night Live Studio until the time of the ceremony. They did not have any bridesmaids or groomsmen but were pleasantly surprised to have their children fill those roles!

“It was amazing . . . amazing. We hadn’t seen Christopher since 2019. It was a wonderful surprise,” Helen noted.

Their  renewal ceremony was just a little more opulent than their wedding ceremony 51 years ago in Sigourney, Iowa. 

The Plaza was decorated the night before to make it a beautiful renewal venue. A photographer was hired to take pictures of the couple with all the stars of the “Today Show,” their family and more. Anchor Hoda Kotb, a part-time officiant, led the ceremony. The couple read the vows they wrote themselves.

After the ceremony, Al Roker presented them a second honeymoon trip, made possible by the show’s sponsor, Mastercard. Soon they will be taking an all-expense paid trip to Napa Valley in California.

The producers arranged for the family to stay an extra day to visit.

“After we left the ‘Today Show,’ we moved from our hotel to where the kids were staying.” 

They were happy to go to their favorite tea shop in Greenwich Village. The couple have visited New York City 10-12 times, as Christopher attended Columbia for four years. The family had a leisurely day, having lunch, a visit to the park and pizza for supper.

The Westcotts moved to Cresco right after their wedding in 1970 and stayed for the next 45 years. 

Emory was a guidance counselor at Howard-Winneshiek for 34 years and then worked at the Cresco Public Library.

Helen taught at St. Joseph’s Elementary and Crestwood Elementary. She got her Master’s and became the technology director. She also worked at Luther College.

The couple moved to Ankeny to be closer to family in 2015.

Helen said the couple is enjoying the messages from former students and Cresco friends since they appeared on TV. “It is greatly appreciated.”