Some of the Craziest Weddings I’ve Seen



Laura Breck

We live on a lovely park in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and during the summer - and especially in June - we have the opportunity to sit on our patio and participate in the joyous events from afar.

There are usually Friday evening weddings, often two weddings on Saturday, and some couples even exchange vows Sunday afternoon. Then there are the couples who make the park their after-wedding photo destination. Sometimes three or four on a Saturday afternoon.

The bride and groom usually arrive by limousine or party busses of all colors: black, white, silver, and even pink. Once, cute couple rode in on an old fire truck.

We know it’ll be a big wedding when a huge truck rolls in around noon and deposits a few hundred plastic chairs. But sometimes the service is quick, and people stand. Often, the participants are each holding a matching umbrella if the weather is bad. Good planning by the bride and groom.

Almost every wedding has music, and it has ranged from a string quartet to a keyboardist who sang rather off key (it had to be a family member) to Christian heavy metal blaring from huge speakers. And the bagpipes! We've witnessed lots of kilted Scotts playing bagpipes over the years!

The neighbors have become very protective of the park, and often a couple from one of the other houses will go through the park after the wedding party leaves, just to clean up anything that’s been left behind. After a Jewish wedding one weekend, some of our friends blew out the candle that was left burning in the park. Ooops! We later learned that it’s tradition to leave it burning to grant the couple blessings and luck. Our apologies to the new Mr. and Mrs. We hope you’re still together!

Since we’re downtown, we do have a homeless population. More than once, a group of vagrants has wandered into the park to watch the wedding. One hot day, two of the fellows decided it would be nice to cool down by taking off their shirts and splashing on some of the water from the fountain. The silent surprise of the wedding attendees was quickly followed by a few wedding guests rousting the uninvited bathers.

Sometimes nature plays an odd role in the wedding. After a Native American couple had said their vows, they were walking back toward us, toward their limo, and a huge oak tree - much larger than I could even get my arms around - cracked and fell across the street just yards behind their limo. Now, I don’t purport to be an expert on Native American mysticism, but I can’t imagine that was a good omen!

On warm weekend evenings, as the officiant pronounces the couple legally bound, my husband and I lift our glasses of wine in a silent toast to marriage. May all of them be as happy or happier than they are on their special day.

I'd love to hear about the wild things you've seen at weddings. Anything nuttier than what I've seen?
 

Happy Wedding Season!

Laura
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