Sam and Tom got married!

Sam and Tom got married

Sam Ion is a close friend of ours, and a grand-daughter of one of Lake of Bays' first settlers, Tommy Salmon. Tommy was world famous for his abilities in crafting snowshoes and canoes. Sam is world famous for her travel writing. And, yes, over the years she has featured Bondi Village in her column!

So we're happy to share one of the great moments of Sam Ion's life with our readers. Congratulations, Sam and Tom! We look forward to seeing you here soon, for first-hand hugs and congrats.



ONE MORE TIME
Sam Ion weds first husband for the second time at Sandals
Anita Draycott


Son-in-law & daughter Nick & Jayne, Tom & Sam Ion, Anita Draycott, Joan Haines

13 MAY 2009: Here’s a destination wedding with a difference. On Friday May 8 Sam Ion, who has been writing about travel, with a specialty in all-inclusives, for more than 15 years, vowed “I do” at Sandals Whitehouse Resort in Jamaica. The twist in this love story is that Sam married her first husband, Tom Ion.

They first wed as childhood sweethearts in 1962. Shortly after they had two children, Russ and Jayne. By the time they were both 40 they had drifted apart. They divorced but always remained friends. Both remarried: Sam once; Tom twice.

In 2006, Sam’s second husband, Cam Norton, died suddenly of a heart attack while the couple were racing to make a connection at Vancouver Airport en route to visit Russ and Jayne, who now both live in Australia. Tom, who is an investment counsellor, seemed to know instinctively how to console Sam and help her with her grief and her finances.

A year later, their daughter Jayne, won a scholarship to the Mac World Expo in San Francisco. Both proud parents decided to fly down to celebrate the occasion. San Fran cast its magic spell and they fell in love again.

Unlike their first modest ceremony and honeymoon, the Sandals’ “WeddingMoons “ package delivered all the romantic bells and whistles the lovers could wish for, including 24-hour butler service, a couples’ massage at the Red Lane Spa, barefoot walks on the beach at sunset, flowers and cake by celebrity wedding planner Preston Bailey, champagne and dancing in a tropical garden and a torch-lit wedding feast under a full moon.

Daughter Jayne was the matron of honour and her husband Nick was the best man, The bridesmaids were Sam’s travel buddies: journalist Anita Draycott and Joan Haines, principal of Coastal International, who has handled public relations for Sandals in Canada for 18 years.

Sam, who writes a regular column for the Oakville Beaver, Peterborough This Week, Belleville Community Press and Winnipeg Lance, and who has slept at almost 200 resorts in the Caribbean, Mexico and Central America, can now personally attest to Sandals’ slogan: “Love is all you need. Everything else is included.”
Posted by Nancy Tapley at 9:36 AM 0 comments