General Hospital Moments in History: Luke and Laura’s 41th Anniversary

Last year on October 24, 2020, Luke and Laura celebrated their 40th Anniversary on General Hospital. What? you say. You thought their wedding anniversary was in November. And weren’t they wed in 1981? Well, yes, their wedding did take place on November 16 and 17, 1981. But the anniversary of their marriage is October 24. Today marks their 41st.

General Hospital Moment To Remember

Fans who fervently followed the Luke and Laura storyline in the late 1970s and early 1980s couldn’t wait for the couple to be together. Their summer on the run odyssey in 1980 concluded when Frank Smith’s black book was decoded and Luke and Laura were able to return safely to Port Charles.

But before that, they made a pit stop at the place of their happiest times, Beecher’s Corners. It was there that Laura at long last removed her wedding ring, breaking all ties with Scotty Baldwin and committing herself to Luke. The couple made love and happily planned their future.

When Luke and Laura were finally on their way home, they stopped at a luncheonette for a bite to eat. Luke bought a cigar and presented it to Laura. He wanted to commemorate their union by giving her a wedding ring.

Laura was delighted by Luke’s romantic gesture. Luke took the cigar band from the cigar, slipped it on Laura’s finger, and the two exchanged wedding vows. They both agreed that no ceremony in the world could seem more real. Fans were in heaven as their favorite couple seemed to be getting their happily ever after.

Sadly, Luke didn’t fully understand Laura’s fear of what people thought of her. He’d promised to hold onto her hand when they got back to Port Charles, but a crowded police station made that impossible.

The two were separated and Laura faced her family, friends, and callous reporters alone. Laura found herself denying her relationship with Luke and tore off the cigar band. Luke was heartbroken at Laura’s betrayal. It would take many frustrating months for Luke and Laura to reconcile.

But even as they planned their wedding, Luke and Laura would always think of their vows over the cigar band as their true marriage. Luke, while being pressured to have a public wedding instead of a private one, admitted to a crowd at Kelly’s Diner that he and Laura had already had their private ceremony. And Laura noted a few weeks before the wedding, “You know, we were really married that day when you put the cigar band on my finger. We really were.”

So here’s to 41 years ago, when nothing was better than Luke and Laura’s Love in the Afternoon!