Couple throws Titanic anniversary bash

[Andrew Clarkson]

MISSION VIEJO – Just because the party was "Titanic" themed doesn't mean the marriage is a sinking vessel.

Jill and Carl Brown, residents of Mission Viejo for 40 years, celebrated their 46th wedding anniversary Saturday in style, staging a throwback bash where more than 100 guests dressed in early 1900s garb.

It didn't stop at clothes though – the back yard was made to look like a dining room and a 25-foot stage was made to look like the ship, complete with a two-story-tall working smokestack.

The couple, who have gained a reputation among friends for their over-the-top bonanzas, said they went on a cruise a few months back when the inspiration struck.

"We ran out of themes. We did a couple of '50s and '60s (parties), we did World War II, we've done Western, pretty much everything," Jill Brown said. "It's been really fun and our friends get into it."

Their friends were so into it, in fact, that the partygoers – many from a karaoke group the Browns participate in – became the evening's entertainment.

"It may be one of the best they've ever put together," said Casey Conway, of Auburn, who was Carl's best man. "It's Jill's creativity and Carl's engineering that helped it all come together."

Source: http://www.ocregister.com