A couple got married inside a pool filled with lukewarm water to honour how their love began. Marlene Parsons, 78, and Edward La Rue Sr., 83, met three years earlier in the same pool during water aerobics classes when they playfully splashed each other. Both their spouses had recently d!ed, and neither one had an interest in remarrying a condition they agreed upon when they started dating. However, things changed and they got married in Nov. 2025, in the shallow end of an Illinois pool, where their scheduled water aerobics class was cancelled just for the wedding ceremony to hold. The bride walked out of the locker room and onto the pool deck wearing a tutu over her swim trunks and white water shoes. The groom also wore swim trunks, though his were black. The couple held hands to descend the stairs into lukewarm water.
Female guests at the wedding wore corsages on their swimsuits, and male guests went shirtless, but wore ties. A lifeguard carved white foam pool noodles into the shapes of roses. Parsons and La Rue danced in the water to 1950s R&B songs
We just told everybody in the pool: just come and have fun with us, Parsons told The Washington Post. We just dont take life seriously, she added. I mean, lifes too short.
When they met in 2022, Parsons and La Rue were still grieving their respective partners: Dale, who d!ed in 2020 of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and Georgia, who d!ed in 2019 after suffering from a blood disease. Between stretches and jumping jacks during water aerobics classes at a YMCA facility in Maryville, Illinois, La Rue got a kick out of splashing the other 30 class members. While some people didnt appreciate it, Parsons laughed and splashed him back. They visited a Chinese restaurant for their first date in December 2023 the first date either had been on since their spouses d!ed. They had similar hobbies: cooking soup, reading and completing word-search puzzles. At water aerobics classes, they got closer and k!ssed when they didnt think anyone was looking. In March 2025, La Rue asked Parsons to marry him. Parsons was unsure how to respond, she said, but she thought about how La Rue made her laugh again after she struggled to get out of bed following Dales de@th. A few days after La Rues proposal, Parsons accepted. We just seem to be a good fit, Parsons said. We both like the same things. We both like to kid each other. It was like it was meant to be. A few weeks later, Alie Morgan, a senior aquatics director at the YMCA facility, jokingly suggested that Parsons and La Rue get married in the pool because they met there. She added that she could wed them since she became ordained in 2023 because she planned to officiate her sons wedding. Parsons and La Rue laughed, feeling no rush to get married. However, in October 2025, Parsons recalled walking into Morgans office and asking Does the offer still stand? Are you serious? Morgan, 54, recalled replying. In the pool? The couple's wedding held on Nov. 12, with family members and friends in attendance. Guests entered the water or stood on the pool deck for the ceremony. The couple said their vows and exchanged rings inside the pool. The ceremony took about 15 minutes, finishing with plenty of time before the 10 a.m. exercise class. While some of their friends took the class, Parsons and La Rue cut a marble sheet cake in a different room and finalized their marriage certificate.
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