Guest post written by Gavin Nachbar
Duncan Thomson and Sammi Gardiner met a long time ago, in a place far, far away.
This past May 4, Duncan, 41, arrived to his wedding sporting black pants and a black vest, and Sammi, 39, came wearing a white dress and a veil. She walked the isle amongst friends and family who came dressed for the occasion too. Yes…the best man came dressed as Chewbacca.
Both avid fans of all the Star Wars movies, Duncan and Sammi saw it only fitting that they get married at a Star Wars themed wedding, on Star Wars day. The couple, from the Isle of Wight, had both been married before and saw no need to have a “typical wedding.” The theme was an easy choice, seeing as their first date back in May 2005 was going to see Revenge of the Sith.
Family friend Dan Cawpheray, embodying the character of Darth Vader, delivered the sermon in a Star Wars style flanked by two Imperial Stormtroopers. He started off by saying, "Members of the Galactic Empire, Duncan and Sammi met a long time ago, in a place far, far away. The force is strong with these two.”
And at the time when most brides and grooms promise to be together “through sickness and in health,” Duncan went that much further and said, "I promise to protect you from carbon freezing and promise to protect you from the Dark Side, through hyperspace and into the far reaches of the galaxy."
Although most parts of Star Wars were included throughout the ceremony, the couple had to take out all the parts with referencing a “Jedi”, since it is in fact a recognized religion.
The ceremony ended with the bride and the groom exchanging rings. The bride's ring was made out a meteorite found from Canyon Diablo, in the US, and read “May the 4th be with you.”
Despite all the fun, though, George Lucas was not on hand for the wedding, although the newlyweds did extend the olive branch to the creator of Star Wars. Lucas even responded with a personal letter from Skywalker Ranch saying that he could not go. Said Mr. Thomson of Lucas not being able to attend, "It was a shame he could not be here but I hope he sees the pictures and sees that we did him proud."
Gavin Nachbar is a freelance writer. If you would like to submit a guest post, please email.