THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210052
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
Marriage commissioner Rufus Tonelson has seen it all: a motorcycle wedding, a wedding in string bikinis at the beach, a wedding on wheels at a skating rink.
But a medieval wedding? With kings and queens and swords and wenches?
``Definitely not,'' Tonelson said with a chuckle, just before administering the vows to ``Lady Diana'' and ``Lord Jason'' at a special ceremony Saturday at sunny Town Point Park.
The happy 16th-century couple was actually Diana C. Reardon, 30, of Chesapeake, and Jason C. Schmus, 23, of Portsmouth. The two history buffs met several years ago through a local medieval arts group.
He proposed to her last year on a mock battlefield at the Virginia Renaissance Faire in Norfolk. So it seemed only natural that they should get married in that same Merry Olde England spot - minus the battle garb, of course.
``Well,'' Schmus mused beforehand, ``she always said she wanted our wedding to be something big, something special.''
That it was.
The ceremony began about 3 p.m. when King Henry VIII and Queen Anne Boleyn (her head still attached, thankfully) entered a ``Romance Garden'' constructed specially for the occasion.
Straw, colorful flowers and simple wood benches were assembled by organizers of the Renaissance Faire, Norfolk-based Festevents. Spokeswoman Deb Hickman said her company was so taken by the wedding that officials built the theme of this year's faire around it.
Minstrels played under a black-and-purple tent as the king loudly called family members and curious festival-goers closer to the approaching wedding party.
Schmus arrived first, dressed in an open brown peasant smock over dark tights and carrying a sword. Then came the bride, with a flowing green and beige dress fit for a maiden. A long lace train trailed behind her.
``Is this is a real wedding?'' asked one man, poking his head through a hole in the crowd.
When an invited guest turned and nodded yes, he smiled and said, ``Wow, what a cool thing to tell their grandchildren.''
The father of the bride, Ray Reardon, gave away his daughter. He, too, was dressed in the spirit of the day - a smock, tights, but no sword.
``I've never liked tuxedos,'' Reardon laughed afterward. ``You know, I didn't wear one at my wedding, either. I was in a military uniform back then.''
Reardon, a retired Navy submariner, said he never thought twice about his daughter getting married at a public, medieval-theme wedding.
``We've been in theater all our lives; so, no, it was no big deal at all,'' said Lillian Reardon, the bride's mother and a professional seamstress, who made 11 medieval costumes for guests and the wedding party.
Afterward, the public was invited to feast on wedding cake and punch. The cake, not surprisingly, was shaped like a castle, with green icing forming turrets around the edges.
As for the future of this past-loving couple? The two will continue to live in Chesapeake and work in Norfolk. She's a data entry clerk; he's a mailroom and production employee.
There will be no honeymoon right away. But the two say they want to save up money for a trip to Ireland soon, where castles and the glories of the past still dominate the culture.
``I've always loved Errol Flynn, ever since I was a little girl,'' the bride said, when asked what piqued her curiosity with medieval days.
``I've always loved things with kings and queens,'' she added. ``Nowadays, they just don't have anything like that. It was a lot more romantic back then.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/Staff photo
``Lady Diana'' and ``Lord Jason'' are showered with rice after their
medieval ceremony Saturday in downtown Norfolk.
by CNB