It is possible to fall asleep on your second date and still marry the person you go on that date with. It helps, however, if the other person also falls asleep, too. That is the tale of Philip Joseph “PJ” Seay and Marie Hawks, who wed Saturday at the Byrd Theatre. They chose the Byrd because it was where they both fell asleep on their second date. The dim red lights of the historic theatre set the romantic backdrop for the ceremony.
Proceeds from the $5 tickets to the event supported the Byrd Theater. The bridesmaids maids wore a variety of colors and outfits. The groomsmen, however, dressed more ostentatiously: as a Druid, a gun-carrying skeleton, a friar and a pimp.
Local Justice of the Peace and Elvis impersonator Randy Roe ministered the wedding in a full king-of-rock-and-roll costume.
Seay interrupted the vow exchange: “I want her to be my lawfully wedded wife, not awfully wedded wife.”
The crowd laughed at Roe’s folksy expressions: ‘Thank you, thank you very much,’ ‘Yup’ and ‘Ok.’ Onlookers also laughed when Hawks commented on marriage: “Well it’ll be difficult, but I guess so.”
The ceremony ended with popcorn being thrown at the couple. Audience member Jerry Stauffer, a Detroit native, said he moved to Richmond because of a stupid girl.
“I came to the wedding because I read about it in the papers. The best part of the event is the after party, looking at all the costumed guests of the wedding party,” he said.
Jeff Ley of Williamsburg said, “Elvis was the niftiest part of the event.”