goin' to the chapel

We haven't had nearly as many weddings this summer as we have for the past two summers, but we have had a few. In fact, I actually officiated my first wedding in June. I didn't know the couple personally, but my friend's husband was one of the groomsman and knew this young couple needed an officiant. I met with them for premarital counseling and felt like they were a good match and well prepared and so I was willing to do the service.
As I began to get the details I realized this was not a Martha Stewart/Preppy wedding. The couple met while working at a haunted house and wanted to get married there. I was concerned about this, but they assured me that it was actually going to be in a field on the same property, not at the haunted house. No harm done...except after I had invested several hours into planning things and doing the counseling, I learned that they were inviting their friends to wear their costumes! After consulting my other clergy friends, I decided to go ahead with the arrangement.
It turns out, they actually didn't wear their costumes...it was WAY to HOT for that. The bride wore a gorgeous traditional dress. The groom wore jeans and a black shirt. I opted out of wearing my robe for fear that I might pass out and decided to wear a black Ann Taylor wrap dress with a stole. The groomsmen were supposed to wear black pants, a black tie, and a short sleeved white shirt. My friend's husband joked that he would probably ride his bike up there so he could go out and tell folks about the book of Mormon afterward. The bridesmaids wore very bridesmaidy dresses..the congregation wore whatever the heck they wanted...it was really a mixed bag. My friend wore Lilly, other folks wore shorts.
In the end, it didn't feel that haunted housy, except for the fact that a logistical problem that occurred between my rehearsal and the actual wedding resulted in a need for a vehicle and they decided to use the haunted house's hearse. No Joke! A man also had his cell phone on and it rang during the service....and HE ANSWERED IT. I didn't hear it, but my friend said it went a little something like this...Hello? Hey, let me call you back. I'm at a wedding.
You know what though? As odd of an ocassion as it was, it was actually quite lovely. They wrote their own vows, which concerned me, but they were so appropriate and really quite beautiful....and a butterfly landed on the brides shoulder while she was saying hers. I have one photo of this very untraditional couple dancing their first dance. Their pose looks almost fake...it's too romantic to be real, but there they are, her in her beautiful dress, him in his jeans and tattoos, in front of the hearse with the bloody letters, ready to begin their life together and I think they're going to be just fine. It's pretty crazy to think I was a part of all of that. I am looking forward to the next one. But, I wouldn't mind if it had just a little pink and green. :)
7/5/8 EDIT: I took the pics down. I'm not sure if they would want them posted and perhaps it's more fun for you to imagine anyway.