"Outer Space" Wedding for Coley and Markus!

Coley and Markus are a remarkable young couple. They essentially grew up together from high school on and their romance gradually developed while they were in college--Markus at ECU and Coley at UNC Wilmington. They got to know each other well by sharing rides home from college and riding out Hurricane Ophelia together. They are both scientists and knew when they married they wanted a non-religious ceremony that reflected their beliefs and passions. And so they found me and were delighted to be able to design their own ceremony according to what they wanted. They are very creative, out of the box thinkers, to say the least and it was so much fun working with them. They carefully and appropriately chose the Museum of Life and Science in Durham for the ceremony and the reception. It was perfect for them and fascinating to see their vision come together. Instrumental in helping them was Kelly Taylor with the museum. Thanks, Kelly!

Their wedding was December 21, 2012, deliberately chosen since that was supposed to be the end of the world. In fact, my opening statement to the guests was: "Welcome everyone!  Today we gather to celebrate the marriage of Coley and Markus who cannot imagine a better group of people to spend the last day on earth with." Above you can see the reception area near the entrance to the museum.

Cinda with Cinda's Creative Cakes made this fabulous cake sitting on illuminated glass blocks resembling a spaceship. It was motorized and the world on top rotated. See the aliens invading the earth on the back of the cake.

On the front of the cake a robot was seated holding a small human figure like a ventriloquist would.

 A nearby poster....

 These fiber-optic lamps were on each table.....

Setting up when we got there was Randy Bennett with Joe Bunn DJ Company. Good to work with Randy again. He had his bodypack all set up for my microphone to be plugged into.

Back in the area of the museum near the lunar landing display was where we held the ceremony. The processional began with the entrance of the parents. These are Markus' parents, Barbara and Steve, entering.

Then Coley's  mother, Mella, was escorted in by her brother Shannon. The father of the bride, Larry, was already seated.

Then Markus and his best man, Aubrey, and I entered next. You can see Michelle Gunton in the background taking photos. Michelle is such a great photographer and so much fun to work with. I wore my black suit but it would have been more fun if I had come as an alien!

For the entrance of our bride, they chose the traditional bridal march into which Randy had inserted some Outer Space sound effects!

 Coley chose to walk herself in and Markus met her at the back of the chairs and escorted her on in.

So, this is what the area looked like. Very simple, no decorations other than the display case of animal skulls and shark jaws! The area was rather dark so most of my photos are not very sharp because the shutter had to stay open long enough to let light in but that allowed any movement of the subject to blur.

Markus is reading his vows to Coley who is having a good laugh!

Then we had a very unique unity ceremony designed by this creative couple. You know how a glow stick works, right? You break the barrier between two chemicals which then mix causing the fluorescent dye to glow. So, they had the two chemicals  in separate beakers which they then poured together. They had to wear protective gloves in case of a spill. It was all very scientific!

Coley is swirling the chemicals to get them to mix. 

And this is the final product! They sent me the scientific words describing the reaction of the solutions which I then related to their union: "The chemicals glow because the energy in the exothermic reaction is transmitted to the fluorescent dye and not lost as heat just as love is transmitted between two people who love each other rendering the whole greater than the two parts. Once the reaction occurs, it cannot be reversed, symbolic of your marriage--a molding of two individual personalities, bonding together and forming one heart and one life."

The pronouncement of marriage was made and I invited them to kiss.

An aside here--I was not at their rehearsal to instruct them to make the kiss at least long enough for Michelle to get a good photo. So, their kiss was just a little peck so I said "Let's see that kiss again!"

 Markus goes for it but Coley was a little shy! 

So here they are, husband and wife! Interesting shadow of Heather, the Maid of Honor, on the wall behind them!

This blurriness actually looks kind of other-worldish, don't you think? I thought so, so I kept it.

 Heather and Aubrey as aliens!  

I invited the guests to partake of cocktails while the wedding party departed to the lunar landing exhibit. I got Dave to take a closer photo of the bride's beautiful brooch bouquet. She told me she got it on eBay!

 Markus is wearing a handsome brooch too, instead of a boutonneire. 

So, here we are.......The world did not end after all! Coley and Markus, you are a brilliant and unique couple. A new chapter in your lives has begun and you have the rest of your life before you. I wish you tons of happiness, peace and love! (I saw some photos of your reception on Facebook so I know you had a fabulous celebration.)