Duo takes first walk down new judicial center's aisle
Diane Boysen and Gary Findlay were the first couple to be married at Columbia County's new Judicial Center in Evans.
Newlyweds Diane Boysen and Gary Findlay share a kiss outside Columbia County's new Judicial Center in Evans. The couple, who wed last Friday, was the first to be married at in the new facility.
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"I didn't even know the place had opened. We decided last Sunday to get married, so when we called, that's where they told us to go," said Findlay, who had dated his new wife for the past year-and-a-half. "It was a spur-of-the-moment thing."
The grand building opened Aug. 30 and houses all Columbia County courts under one roof, including, magistrate, probate, juvenile and superior courts, along with the clerk of courts office.
On the day it opened, Boysen and Findlay beat a path to Magistrate Judge Mike Newsome's office. Judge Newsome married the couple in a 6 p.m. civil ceremony.
"It was such a beautiful place," the new Mrs. Findlay said. "It made you feel special to be the first, knowing there would be hundreds and hundreds after you."
The couple had met about 12 years ago, but had parted ways shortly after meeting. They met up again while each was dining out alone.
"The rest is history," Diane said. "We probably had not seen each other in about 12 years. It just went from there. That's our little fairy tale."
He is an engineer at the Savannah River Site and she runs an in-home day care. They are living in Martinez.
Family and friends attended the wedding ceremony. The Findlays went to the Partridge Inn in Augusta for their honeymoon.