Burnin’ love: Sunny View firefighting couple plans special wedding ceremony
Published 5:50 pm Monday, October 6, 2008
&dquo;We said we weren&squo;t going to do anything fancy,&dquo; Laughter said.
The backdrop will symbolize the love that has burned between Garcia and Laughter for the last five years.
The couple first met on a blind date. Laughter&squo;s cousin and Garcia&squo;s friend introduced them. They hung out at a friend&39;s house and went on an official date later on.
&dquo;She&squo;s been glued to me ever since,&dquo; Garcia said.
&dquo;No,&dquo; Laughter said. &dquo;I think it&squo;s vice versa.&dquo;
Garcia has been a volunteer firefighter off and on for 12 years. He&squo;s spent the last year working at Sunny View.
He moved to the area in 2003 when his relationship with Laughter was gaining steam. He finally joined the fire department a year ago when he was finally knowledgeable enough about the community and its residents.
Laughter was born and raised in Sunny View. She&squo;s been a volunteer firefighter at Sunny View for six months.
For her, the desire to help people runs through the blood in her veins. Her dad, John, is a paramedic. Her mom, Pam, is a nurse. So six months ago after some prodding by friends and family, Laughter joined the Sunny View Fire Department.
&dquo;I joined and I love it,&dquo; she said.
During the day, Laughter is a cook and Garcia works at St. Luke&squo;s Hospital in the radiology department.
But on Saturday, everyone who attends the wedding will see the couple in the environment&bsp; they&squo;re both passionate about.
Laughter will emerge from the door in the back of the firehouse in her fire gear. She&squo;ll make her way down the aisle, designated by fire hoses. Awaiting her in front of a fire truck will be Garcia, also in his firefighter gear, with the minister.
As the ceremony proceeds, the couple&squo;s wedding vows will include the firefighter&squo;s prayer.The bridesmaids will wear red Sunny View Fire Department T-shirts and blue jean skirts. The two best men will wear full firefighter gear. The other groomsmen will wear blue Sunny View Fire Department T-shirts with blue cargo pants.
Jeremy Orr will be performing the music. Laughter&squo;s daughters, Annica and Autumn, will give her away with her dad and they will be the ringbearer and flowergirl.
When all is said and done, the rings are on and the &dquo;I do&squo;s&dquo; have been said, the fire truck sirens will sound to celebrate Mr. and Mrs. Garcia.
The big worry is what they will do if a call comes in during the ceremony ‐ what would happen to the wedding?
&dquo;I guess we&squo;re going,&dquo; Garcia said. &dquo;There&squo;ll be a lot of people standing here eating.&dquo;
&dquo;The preacher will just have to hurry up and let us say our &squo;I dos,&squo;&dquo; Laughter said.
So if a call comes through, Laughter, Garcia and his camouflaged wedding band and the whole fire department will respond to the call.
The guests will be allowed to hang back and enjoy the barbecue that will be served at the reception.
The reception will have a firefighter theme as well. The wedding cake will be red velvet. On one side will be the &dquo;Maltese Cross,&dquo; a symbol of firefighters, and on the other side will be fire trucks.
The actual food at the wedding will be barbecue, smoked cabbage and slaw, and other things associated with a barbecue.
The only traditional thing in the whole wedding will happen on the couple&squo;s exit. The plan is for wedding guests to throw rice.
That&squo;s the plan, but rumors are spreading like wildfires around the fire station. Both Laughter and Garcia have heard seperately that there are plans to soak them with the fire hose.
As they leave, they&squo;ll likely climb up on Engine 15 and ride off. Those plans aren&squo;t set in stone yet. They still have to ask the fire chief.
On Sunday, the two will head to Myrtle Beach, S.C. for their honeymoon.
While it wasn&squo;t their first choice for a wedding theme, the couple are happy that a place and job that is important in their lives will be the backdrop for their wedding.
Their first choice in themes was the &dquo;redneck wedding,&dquo; an idea made popular on CMT (Country Music Television). Laughter wanted a camouflage wedding gown, but couldn&squo;t find anyone to make it for either theme wedding.
But the couple is thrilled with their idea.
&dquo;I&squo;m excited to see how it&squo;s going to work out with the whole theme and everything,&dquo; Laughter said. &dquo;It makes it a lot more memorable.&dquo;
The couple has invited anyone to attend. The ceremony will be at 1 p.m. at the Sunny View Fire Department on Saturday. If it rains, it&squo;ll be moved to the community building.
&dquo;If it all turns out right, it&squo;ll be interesting,&dquo; Garcia said.&bsp;