July 31st, 1999
Held at the Fort at No. Four
Charlestown, NH
The wedding was held during the annual French and Indian War commemoration at the Fort.
We had just returned from a two week trip that began at the Fort, where we posted our "wedding banns" as was traditional in 18th century New England. The trip then led us to Fortresse de Louisbourg out on the the tip of Nova Scotia for a 250th anniversary event there, then back to #4. This means that for two weeks we had been living in my old van that we had jury-rigged into a camper. It broke down in Glasgow, NS, and we camped in the Dodge dealer's parking lot for a couple of days. This was not a trip for the feint of heart.
This was the 2nd reenactment that Wendy had been to, and she's wearing borrowed clothes that don't quite fit right. There are strategically placed safety pins holding everything together. Pete's "good" clothes are his winter clothes. Lots of layers, heavy fabric. It was the hottest weekend of the summer, about 95 degrees outside. The wedding was held inside, in the "great chamber", where it was even hotter. Pack about 120 people into a big room with six little windows on a hot day and it gets really stuffy, really fast.
During the day, Johanna Caldwell had brought Wendy to her house, maybe 1/4 mile from the Fort, to get cleaned up and take a shower. After living in a van for two weeks, a shower is the ultimate wedding present!
The wedding was to kick off after the tourists had gone home. When word got out in the camps that there was to be a wedding, there was a flood of reenactors that came down into the Fort for the evening. Our friend George even made it at the last minute after driving down from Maine at warp speed. There were old friends and strangers. Pretty much all of them were strangers to Wendy. Our families were not there, as it was originally intended to be a civil ceremony.
Here is Bob, leading Wendy up the stairs to the great chamber of the Fort to give her away.
We had written our vows and much of the service with the aid of Pastor Cindy from the Charlestown Congregational Church.
Here is Pastor Cindy asking "Who presents this woman?".
Bob shoved her over to Pete and said "Here, take her".
We all know how weddings go: Blah blah blah, do you take this man, do you take this woman, blah blah blah. Just kidding, it was a nice service, but boy was it hot in there!
Notice Johanna over on the right with sweat poring off of her. She had to hold a candle so Pastor Cindy could see to read the service.
"You may now kiss the bride"
The here they are, just married. The heat is getting to Pete, another ten minutes in that coat in 95 degree weather and he's going to faint. We got the picture taking over with as quick as possible so he could get the coat off.
It was very important to Eric, a Fort volunteer for the past 20 years, that we fire Rachael, the big bronze gun as our first official act together as a married couple.
Since he had worn his best kilt and even put shoes on for the wedding, how could we argue with him? Wendy felt that this was her first compromise of the marriage.
I'm pretty sure this photograph ended up in the local newspaper.
Here is the newly married couple. No, Pete never smiles for pictures. Even at his own wedding.
He's one of those old time crotchety yankees that tries to look stoic around cameras.
The volunteers at the Fort and in the reenacting community in general came together to throw the suprise wedding.
It was originally going to be two witnesses and a JP. Betty, who was supposed to track down the JP while Pete and Wendy were in Canada, couldn't find one so she set it up with the local Congo church.
As more people found out about it, it grew and grew.
Volunteers went out into the fields to pick wildflowers to make Wendy's bouquet, garlands, and flowered crowns for the girls.
How's this for a full house of flower girls! We even knew a few of them.
There was even live music. Dot and Monica drove for over two hours from Billerica Massachusetts to come play for us.
