Rachel Thompson and Michael Gruenwald's wedding was not the usual affair.
Their wedding song was taken from a jukebox. The "cake" was a plate of Valentine's Day cookies that a friend of Rachel's had baked. The bride wore a veil of ribbon, and the flowers were plastic.
The ceremony occurred on a small stage usually reserved for dart throwing. It was decorated with paper cupids, bells and hearts.
Everyone had a beer in hand, and the minister wore lederhosen. At moments throughout the ceremony, those in attendance would raise their glasses and exclaim, "Prost!" a German toast.
The wedding took place on Valentine's Day at Prost, a German pub in Phinney Ridge. The scene was appropriate for a couple who met in a Guinness drinking contest.
GOING THE DISTANCE
Rachel and Michael met four years ago in his native Australia, where she was studying abroad.
When she returned to Washington state, her family helped Michael get a work visa so they could be together in the United States. Last October, Michael proposed.
Michael's visa was about to expire this winter, so the couple applied for their marriage license and planned on simply being wed by a judge at city hall.
Rachel's friends had heard that the owner of their neighborhood pub would perform "fake 24-hour weddings"- weddings valid for 24 hours - and renewing vows on Valentine's Day. They decided to see if Chris Navarra could perform an actual wedding.
Navarra is an ordained minister of the Universal Life Church. He was planning to perform fake weddings just for fun on Valentine's Day, but he accepted the task of marrying Rachel and Michael.
And it happened quickly. Rachel's mother learned of the wedding on Sunday. Navarra was asked to serve as minister on Monday. They were married at Prost on Tuesday.
THE WEDDING DAY
The Universal Life Church "will ordain anyone for the asking," according to its webpage. The ordinations are legal in Washington state.
Navarra ordained himself on-line about six years ago just for fun.
"Since I'm a bar owner, I thought I might as well have the ability to marry people if they want to," Navarra said. "To drink a beer while you're performing a wedding is a pretty cool thing."
The ceremony on Valentine's Day included the Gruenwalds' wedding, plus those of two other couples, Drew and Catherine Ringo and Melissa and Mark Peterman, renewing their vows. There were also a few "fake 24-hour weddings."
It was also the first time that Navarra had used his powers as an ordained minister. He described being approached to perform an actual wedding as "nerve-wracking."
Marilyn Thompson, Rachel's mother, said that when she arrived at Prost, she told Navarra that he had to prove he was official. He showed her his certificate from the Universal Life Church.
Navarra had prepared a small speech for the ceremony, but "once people started crying, he threw the speech out," Rachel said.
A MEMORABLE OCCASION
Despite the fact that they are officially married, Rachel and Michael plan a more traditional wedding ceremony for later this year.
But the ceremony at Prost will be a great memory for those involved.
"It was a way for people to enjoy themselves and have a good time," Thompson said.
"It's a much more interesting story to say you got married by a man in lederhosen than a judge," Rachel said.
As for future weddings at Prost, Navarra said he hopes to make similar ceremonies an annual Valentine's Day tradition.
TRADITIONAL ANNOUNCEMENT
This Valentine's Day, Rachel Thompson and Michael Gruenwald toasted their wedding with their close friends and the bride's family in an informal ceremony at Greenwood's Prost tavern.
The bride's sister, Vanessa Stedman, of Green Lake, served as Rachel's matron of honor, and their father, William Thompson presented the bride.
The newlyweds wore Hawaiian Meili leaf and orchid leis, and the guests celebrated with a wedding cake created from Valentine cookies.
Michael's parents, Karlo and Karen Gruenwald, sent their congratulations via the Internet from the family's home town of Port Augusta, South Australia.
The newlyweds met while Rachel was attending Flinders University in Adelaide, South Australia, under the Junior Year Abroad program sponsored by University of Hawaii-Manoa in 2000. Their courtship spanned the continents until Michael graduated from Flinders University, and the couple rendezvoused at Rachel's graduation from University of Hawaii-Hilo in 2002. They later returned to Seattle.
The couple now resides in the Queen Anne neighborhood in Seattle.
Prost is located in Phinney Ridge, at at 7311 Greenwood Ave. N. [[In-content Ad]]
