98-year-old woman takes 2nd walk down the aisle, this time as matron of honor
HARMONY, N.C. -- Naomi Wooten, 98, has only walked down the aisle once before. She was 28 when she married Claude, whom she met on a blind date.
"He was in the Panama Canal and he wrote me a letter and asked if i'd marry him," she explained. "He sent me a diamond ring through the mail."
Their marriage lasted 64 years.
"I loved him, I loved that man," Naomi said.
After Claude's death, Naomi never dreamed she would walk down the aisle again. But out of nowhere, came a proposal, this time to be matron of honor for 23-year-old Bethany Shaw. Naomi met Bethany at church where her father is the pastor. The two became friends and Naomi has even known Bethany's fiance since he was a boy. Despite all of that, Naomi said no.
"I'm not going to be matron of honor, i'm too old," Naomi said.
But after awhile, she came around. Naomi even invited guests of her own, who didn't even know the bride and groom.
"If somebody asks me whether I was gonna sit on the bride's side or the grooms side, I was gonna say neither, I'm on Ms. Naomi's side," said one guest.
On Sunday, with a flower on her walker and a smile on her face, Naomi Wooten made her way down the aisle, and shared nearly a century of wisdom.
"If you don't have love, forget it," said Naomi. "This couple has got it."