OK so I was inspired by this post from StephenPaula and the lovely photos that went along with it.

Now how cute is that? Not to mention those rockin’ shoes the bride is sporting.  To die for.

In any event, I got to thinking. How many of our readers fall in this category?  IR Married over twenty years?  It would be kind of cool to find out and to hear your stories. Thus, an Open Thread is born.

Things have changed…a lot.

According to according to the study done by the Pew Research Center’s Social and Demographic Trends project “intermarriages” continue to grow, so too does public acceptance of such unions.

“About 15% of new marriages in the United States in 2010 were between spouses of different races or ethnicities, more than doubling the 1980 level of 6.7%, according to the study.”

“Meanwhile, about 43% of Americans said they believe more intermarriages is a change for the better within society, while only about one in 10 said it was a change for the worse, the Pew Center said. “Being a minority, younger, more educated, liberal and living in the Eastern or Western states are all traits associated with those who think more positively about intermarriage,” according to the study.

More than one-third of adults surveyed said an immediate family member or close relatives is married to someone of a different race, the study said. And nearly two-thirds, or 63%, said they would have no problem with a family member marrying someone outside their own racial or ethnic group.

In a 1986 survey, nearly three in 10 Americans said intermarriage was not acceptable for anyone, and 37% said it might be acceptable for others, but not for themselves. Only one-third of the public said it was acceptable for everyone in the 1986 poll.

The study is primarily based on the Pew Center’s analysis of data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Service in 2008-2010 and on three nationwide telephone surveys, the study said.”

You can read the rest of the story here

So what do ya say? Share with us what Swirling was like back in the day when things were not as accepting as they are now. Post your photos if you will and if we get enough of them we will create a special slideshow just for our long married Swirlers.