1997 was also MY family's biannual reunion, so this event was part of the whole thing. I'm the oldest of seven and every 2 years, one of us is in charge of a reunion and we get together with our parents, in a "neutral" city. We've done Disneyland, Lake Tahoe, Chicago, Santa Fe, and in 1997, Las Vegas. (In 1999, Steamboat Springs; in 2001, Lake Severn, Ontario; and in 2003, Colorado Springs.)
OK, on to the event!
Before the actual vow renewal, I had a costume party for all 30 of us. 15 kids, 15 adults. Everyone looked great in their costumes! We ate 4 different types of chocolate cake, and drank a special wine. The wine was a Berringer bottle we'd gotten on our honeymoon in Napa in 1987, and luckily it stood the test of time!
Tony was attired in full Star Trek uniform, as "Worf", complete with Klingon forehead and wig. He does fabulous voice impressions, and he acted completely in character throughout the whole ceremony, doing a perfect rendition of Worf.
I wore a purple gown with cape, and collar, Egyptian-inspired. I was hoping to be a Vulcan, but my daughter somehow misplaced BOTH sets of my Vulcan ears! I made my own costume, using gold lame' with little craft jewels to simulate a gold collar. My first major sewing project in a long time!
Amanda, our then 9-year-old daughter, wore a Star fleet jumpsuit and went as a junior Lt. Jadzia Dax from Deep Space Nine. Armand, our then 7-year-old son, went as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.
My 2 sisters and parents came along (my 4 brothers chickened out!). Also, a half dozen members of the local Vegas Star Trek club showed up in full dress uniform. As we arrived at the Chapel, we ran into an Elvis. A couple was dressed as Elvis and Priscilla, and was renewing their 25th wedding anniversary vows, so we weren't the only "crazy" ones!
The inside of the chapel was tasteful--photos of happy couples, little stained glass windows. We met the minister, the Reverend Norm Jones, aka Elvis. He is of the Elvis-Vegas-era vintage, the "King" after he discovered carbohydrates. He had on a black jumpsuit with tons of fringe.
Before we got started, they asked for our rings. Somehow it escaped my mind that wedding vow renewals involve exchanging rings. I had major PMS and it was 115 degrees and I could not get the rings off. Tried dipping my finger in ice water, to no avail.
Tony's ring came off for the first time in a decade and it is now an oval! Armand was entrusted with the ring; during the ceremony he dropped it and played with it, but didn't lose it.
Our guests were seated, and then kaboom!, we walked in as Elvis serenaded us to the "Hawaiian Wedding Song" on a huge microphone.
At this point I lost it completely, as I looked at my boogying sisters who decided to sing backup! I had tears streaming down my face.
We stopped at the front of the chapel and Elvis had us do the unity candle thing. He said some very nice words, tasteful and serious, about marriage, lovers and friends. He intermixed some Star Trek stuff, all impromptu, which I thought was very nice.
We then renewed our vows, my husband still in character, and me laughing and crying. The vows were a mixture of various Elvis songs. "Esther. Baby. I promise to be your hunka hunka burnin' love for all time, and will never treat you moody blue or have suspicious minds."
After his words of wisdom, Elvis came down from behind the pulpit, and whipped out a tacky yellow shiny scarf, and gave it to Tony. Tony dabbed it on his forehead, which made me laugh even harder. He then was instructed to put it around my neck. I made some comment about getting kinky; later Tony tells me this was some kind of sweaty Elvis-towel trademark! When done, Elvis burst into a rousing chorus of "Viva Las Vegas." When we got to the back of the chapel, Elvis linked arms with us and we danced our way back to the front. All the while Elvis was singing. Every time he got to the chorus of Viva Las Vegas, he'd pass the microphone to someone in the audience to belt out the words. Our kids were dancing throughout this. My dad was videotaping and my mom was... stunned.
Apparently we were sufficiently unique and a first time experience for Elvis, because he asked to take special photos of us for his wall of fame!
See Elvis / Reverend Norm Jones in Action!