Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1988)
Making it memorable ^.. i mii ■■in Doug Carroll/Daily Nebraskan The Rotunda of the State Capitol can be used for wed dings, but public tours could interrupt the ceremony. Some sites for wedding rites Parks, end zones available for couples who seek adventure By David Uczen Staff Reporter Future brides and grooms soon will be searching for just the right place to get married. A traditional church wedding will suit most couples, but a few more adventur ous couples will consider some unusual locations. An outdoor wedding, for in stance, provides a romantic and enchanting setting. Many suitable spots arc right here in Lincoln. Jean Hansen, a secretary in the Hansen said. State parks are not used as fre quently as city parks, but they can also be used for weddings. “Arbor Lodge (in Nebraska City) is probably the most de manded area,” said Chuck Duncan, chief of the State Parks Division. Very few couples use the state parks and recreation areas for weddings, he said. People who want to marry in a state park need to contact the superintendent of the park they wish to use. There is no fee for using the state parks. Weddings in a park or at the Capitol may be interrupted by passersby. Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department who handles park weddings, said any of the city parks are available for weddings. To re serve a park, couples need to sub mit a letter stating which park they would like, a date, a lime and a daytime phone number in case of scheduling problems. She said city parks are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. The fee for using a park is $25. There are no guarantees of pri vacy, since the parks are public areas and anyone can use them. The most popular spots arc Hazel Abel Park, 18th and E streets; the Sunken Gardens, 27th Street and Capitol Parkway; and the columns at Pioneers Park, Historical or monumental places also can be used. One such place in Lincoln is the Capitol Building. Bob Ripley, manager of capitol restoration and promotion, said couples can marry in the Capitol as long as they remember certain guidelines. A wedding party is treated just like a tour group, he said. All the restrictions that apply to tourists apply to a wedding party. The wedding may only be conducted during regular tour hours and must end when the Capitol closes. A particular area of the Capitol may not be closed off during a wedding because the Capitol is a public building. Forty l()th graders could run through the ceremony, Ripley said. Privacy is not guaranteed. Although there are no fees or formal reservations, the location, date and time of the ceremony must be arranged in advance in case of an emergency, he said. The University of Nebraska is another site couples might con sider. Ray Coffey, University of Ne braska-Lincoln business manager, said using campus areas for a wedding is a possibility, but would require approval from the depart ment in charge of the requested building or area. He said there is a fee for using most buildings. People who want to use a building must make their requests through the UNL business office and not directly with the department in charge of the build ing. Coffey said a couple could use Memorial Stadium if the ceremony didn’t interfere with football and no alcohol was used. He said Don Bryant, assistant director of the athletic department, also would have to approve the use of the stadium. The Rev. Glover Letich of the First Presbyterian Church, now retired, recalled marrying Ron VanderMeer, a place-kicker for the Cornhuskcrs, to Sharon Runkle in the end /one of Memorial Stadium in 1976. “I guess it was like an outdoor wedding for me, just a little un usual,” he said. Bands, DJs tailor reception music to guests B\ Shawn Schuldies Staff Reciter Couples should look for a hand or disc jockey lhat can play a wide vari ety of music for their wedding recep tion, band members and disc jockeys advise, John Hischkc of the Rebo Max Band said guests at wedding recep tions have different tastes because they vary in age. The band plays everything from polkas and waltzes to recent top-40 hits, Hischke said. Some ol the most requested songs are swing, like “In the Mood,” and songs by Elvis Presley and the Beatles. If a couple wants a band that can play a variety of songs, he said, they should start looking as soon as possible. Couples interested in the Rebo Max Band should call at least one or two months before the wedding, Hischkc said. The band charges $300 to SMX) to play at wedding recep tions. Mark Felker of Knights of the Turn Table, a group of disc jockeys, said couples should call three to eight months in advance. He said 90 per cent of the songs played at receptions arc requested by guests. Most recep tions are geared toward middle-aged guests, he said. Knights of the Turn Table charges $200 for four hours of music, Fclker said. Mac McCune, leader of the Mac 5 Combo, said his band charges $400 to play four sets, each lasting 45 min utes. McCune said the couple should remember the band is there to please them and their guests. “We usually wear tuxedoes,” McC une said. “But if they want us to wear shorts, we will.” The Mac 5 Combo needs about five months’ notice to play at wed ding receptions, McCunc said. Complete Music, another disc jockey service, needs about a month’s notice to play at a wedding, a spokesman said. Complete Music charges S220 for four hours of dance music and an extra hour of back ground music while guests go through the reception line, he said. Richard Naviaux, an agent for the Richard Lutz Entertainment Agency, said the agency represents about seven bands that play at wedding ■ receptions. It costs $300 to $500 for four sets of 45 minutes, Lutz said. A couple should call at least 30 to 60 days before the wedding, he said. Lights, camera ... the big day, on tape By David Uczen Staff Reporter An increasing number of wedding couples arc having their weddings recorded on videotape. Life Video, a general video pro duction company at 421 S. Ninth St., Suite 212, began videotaping wed dings about five years ago. “Videotaping weddings has defi nitely increased,” said Paula Schmidt, office manager at Life Video. She said it has increased by about a third each year. When Life Video began taping weddings, couples thought of vide otaping as an extra. Now, when couples plan their wedding, they pick a video company along with their < photographer, Schmidt said. Ministers were a little apprehen sive at first, she said. They were concerned about problems with extra lighting, cameras in the way and people running around. But over the years, she said, they have become more receptive. At first, people were just vide. otaping the ceremony. Now, every hing from the prenuptial dinner to he dance is being taped, she said. A jsual wedding tape includes the cere mony, cake cutting and toast. Tim Lambert., president and founder of Unlimited Possibilities at $28 S. 30th Street, agreed that vide otaping weddings is on the increase. “People want more than just pic ;ures,” he said. wojo f&ftRKR TODAY... | /0NLY»39d5/DAy * 4# ■ ni<AAAI« | 0tl*Q8IT I REQUIRED I I I OMAHA .HARVEY OAKS • LA V STA f.j| 330-3S|10 |E2-jj881 t ai *Hie wMnvg ftte a bridal boutique in a romantic Victorian Kot^. llOur^: M-5aL 10-530 Thurs. 10*8 5uri. I-5 2?30 ' O: Street Lincoln, l>ie. 66510
