Eight at one altar in one day

FORT SMITH— Maybe you've heard of speed dating; what about speed weddings? More precisely, eight weddings in eight hours Saturday (March 31) at Harvest Time church.

The couples were chosen by random drawing from among 1,000-plus entries submitted at three bridal fairs in Fort Smith November through January. The only requirement was that the couples obtained a marriage license.

The winners were Jordan Schwartz and Garrett Yoes, Roxana Ruiz and Dewayne May, Gerri Runion and Matt Hendrix, Barbara Nelson and Gary Mark and Jennifer, Lafferty and Sean Laney, Wendy Wilson and Matthew Foster, Audra Redden and Matthew Lucas and Stephanie McDonald and Colt Ball.

Pastor Marty Sloan based each service on First Corinthians 13 but tailored the message slightly depending on the couples ages or life circumstances. The service lasted 10-15 minutes with pictures during and afterward by Mason Kesner and Canon Reed. 

Couples primped in one of three pods, or designated areas, cordoned off by white curtains. The goal was to have them in and out in about 40 minutes. Kim McClain, the church's assimilation director, coordinated the weddings, and Jenny Walker provided help with makeup on wedding day.

All services were free for the couples. Inscriptions provided the couples with wedding invitations, Expressions Flowers supplied the bouquets and Unforgettables Rental furnished the decorations.

It took more than 50 church volunteers to make the event possible, said Farrah Shoppach, marketing director for the church.

During just the second service of the day, that of Roxana Ruiz and Dewayne May, Sloan began to pronounce them man and wife before the couple exchanged rings. He backtracked a bit while poking fun at himself and the error,  which he said had never happened in 18 years of performing marriages.

Guests at each wedding formed a corridor outside the church and threw birdseed over the heads of the exiting newlyweds before everyone drove away to receptions off-site.