A Senior Couple Just Got Married… In The YMCA Pool Where They First Met

November 21, 2025

Some love stories begin with a spark. Edward LaRue and Marlene Parsons’ began with a splash.

According to First Alert 4 and People, the Illinois couple first crossed paths in a water aerobics class at the Collinsville Maryville Troy YMCA in Maryville. Edward, 82, and Marlene, 78, bonded over shared loss, gentle flirting, and a few playful splashes in the pool.

“I liked him,” Marlene recalled of their very first meeting.

Both had lost their longtime spouses six years earlier, and neither was sure they’d ever remarry. But their friendship turned into something deeper, and their first date in December 2023 quickly led to a proposal from Edward the following August. Marlene took her time considering — almost a full year — before finally saying yes.

And that’s when their love story took a wonderfully unexpected turn.

Alie Morgan, the YMCA’s aquatics director, had just earned her minister’s license. Half-joking, she suggested the pair get married in the same pool where they’d met — and offered to officiate.

“I didn’t think they would take me seriously,” she told First Alert 4. But Edward and Marlene embraced the idea with enthusiasm.

On November 12, surrounded by friends, family, and one very attentive lifeguard, the couple waded into the YMCA pool wearing water-friendly wedding outfits — tuxedo-style shirt and swim trunks with a top hat for him, and a bridal swimsuit with tulle and veil for her. Photos shared by the YMCA show the couple walking hand-in-hand down the pool steps, exchanging vows in the water, and sealing their marriage with a kiss.

The celebration even included classic wedding touches, reimagined for the aquatic setting: a bouquet toss, a first dance, and cake for everyone watching from poolside.

“It was great!” Edward said afterward. Marlene agreed, smiling, “It was great, yeah!”

In the end, their ceremony ended just the way their romance began — with joy, laughter, and a splash.