Unusual Wedding Venue: Exchanging Marriage Vows on Ferris Wheel

Want to have a unique wedding that reminds you of childhood experiences? Why not exchange marriage vows on a ferris wheel? Just make sure you and your spouse (or your officiating minister/judge/priest) don’t get airsick aboard the ferris wheel!

When Tabitha stepped into the swinging gondola of the ferris wheel at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo on Saturday, her last name was Lund.

A few rotations and a ring later, she was Tabitha Brown, the wife of Chris Brown of Richland.

The couple, who met through friends and have been dating since 2005, have been thinking about getting married for “for a while,” said Tabitha, 34, but couldn’t decide when or where.

But they wanted to do something really different, said Christina O’Brien of Richland, Tabitha’s maid of honor.

When the couple discovered radio station 94.9 The Wolf was running a contest for a ferris wheel wedding at the Benton Franklin Fair & Rodeo, with a corn dog and cotton candy reception, they figured that topped the unusual wedding list.

Throw in a reception from rodeo princesses, sharing a cramped gondola 100 feet above the ground with a fuzzy wolf radio mascot and a reverend, and you can pretty much call it unique.

But even in a carnival atmosphere, a bride still gets the jitters. Especially when you only have a few days to plan the wedding.

Tabitha was notified three days ago that the couple’s entry had been randomly drawn from some 30 hopefuls.

“She didn’t have a dress or anything,” O’Brien said.

But by 3 p.m. Saturday, when the ceremony was scheduled, Tabitha, who is a student, looked stunning and a little overdressed for the midway crowd that seemed oblivious to the wedding party.

She wore an off-white, halter-top dress with a pleated skirt that dipped below her knees, a white veil held in place with a crystal-studded comb, and held a bouquet of red and white lilies.

Then the couple was led to the Bill Beck Memorial Gazebo, where picnic tables were draped in gingham. Plastic champagne flutes waited on tables, as well as bags of cotton candy. Freshly fried corn dogs were stacked in a pyramid on a separate table, with bowls of ketchup and mustard. A second table held a sheet cake, decorated with congratulations.

After the reception, the bride and groom were whisked away by a limousine to the Clover Island Inn, which donated a honeymoon suite for the celebration. They also will receive 60 years of fair tickets, which will help the groom appropriately celebrate upcoming anniversaries.

“I haven’t been to the fair in years,” he said.

This is one they won’t forget.

“It went really well,” said Tabitha.

Source: Tri-City Herald