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.
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