Marriage sealed with a kiss and two-wheel stunt
When Palmerston North woman Fiona Millthorpe agreed to marry self-professed adrenaline junky Ian Soanes it would have been obvious the wedding would be no ordinary affair.
The couple took their vows yesterday while he drove around on two wheels at Central Energy Trust Arena, with a brave celebrant, Chris Hince, making sure the union was all legally ticked off.
South African-born Soanes, 66, has spent a lifetime seeking thrills. His Monster Truck show visited Palmerston North in 2012.
He is into bodybuilding, bungy-jumping, parachuting, and wheel-standing on Dunedin’s celebrated steepest street, Baldwin St.
He has not always come through uninjured, once ending up in hospital after skydiving.
‘‘It’s all been self-inflicted from pushing too hard. I always look for the fun side. Being nervous does not get you anywhere.’’
The couple met in Wanaka, where he ran the Cardrona Adventure Park, and where their combined tally of 11 children grew up.
Millthorpe said she had no worries about the wedding, as Soanes had driven a four-wheel vehicle on two wheels so many times before, once achieving a record of 43.2km.
She wore an off-the-shoulder wedding gown and a seatbelt, no additional safety gear needed.
‘‘We’re only travelling about 20kmh, it’s not fast. It’s just all about his control. He’s not going to drop me in the middle of a wedding ceremony.’’
But there was no such hitch. There was one thing that could have derailed their nuptials, however, and it nearly did. That was rain, which fell in Palmerston North on Saturday morning, enough to make the track too slippery.
Fortunately, the wedding party and guests had yesterday as a back-up day.