‘This was so special’
Heritage Society uses St. John’s Church for quick ceremonies for couples who were sidetracked by the COVID-19 pandemic
Michael and Cinthya Adame were disappointed when they had to cancel their wedding last May due to COVID. Months of planning out the window, and they didn’t know how long their big day would be delayed.
“We were considering just going to a courthouse,” Cinthya Adame said.
But then the couple got a message in a family group chat with a link to a news article about a special event at the Heritage Society — the museum was hosting express weddings in the St. John’s Church building at Sam Houston Park on Valentine’s Day weekend.
After the event was announced, the spots filled up quickly — the mu- seum received about 125 requests. Over the weekend, the Heritage Society conducted 30 consecutive weddings, each with 15-minute ceremonies and 30-minute receptions.
Couples opted into the special deal for many reasons, executive director Alison Bell said. Some couples had their weddings canceled because the pandemic; others liked the novelty of the idea. One couple had been married for about 40 years, and never had the opportunity to have a ceremony, so they had their vows renewed in the church, Bell said.
Michael and Cinytha Adame had their engagement photos taken at the Heritage Society, so they knew they liked the venue, and they also knew they wouldn’t find a better deal with prices starting at $150 for a ceremony.
“This was so special,” Cinytha Adame said. “It’s beyond anything I
thought it would be.”
The couple had their wedding Friday night, and returned Sunday morning for Michael Adame’s sister, Mariela, and her now-husband Eric Aguilar’s wedding.
“We came across this beautiful blessing, and we thought we might as well just go for it because we don’t know how long we’re going to be in this situation,” Mariela Aguilar said. “It’s not what we pictured, but it’s just as beautiful.”
Minnette Boesel, the board president for the Heritage Society, had the idea for years, and thought it was finally time to put it into action when Valentine’s Day landed on a Sunday and so many couples had to cancel their weddings because of the pandemic.
“I’ve been harboring this idea for two years,” Boesel said. “I thought, we have this beautiful church, so why not? So many people have put off getting married because of the pandemic, and we were able to make this very affordable because everything has been donated.”
Kirksey Gregg of Kirksey Gregg Productions, an event planning company, joined the board last May, and was able to help land many of the donations that made the event possible, such as the bouquets, flowers for the church and champagne.
He was able to get many of the donations through his business partners at Rexberry Luxury Weddings, The Ballroom at Bayou Place, Heartstrings String Ensemble, which volunteered their time to play at the weddings, and many others.
He also officiated many of the weddings that happened over the weekend, even though that’s not his usual role. He was planning a wedding years ago in the Hill Country, when a rainstorm hit and the minister was flying in and wasn’t sure if he’d be delayed. So Gregg quickly went online and got his certification. Now he’s putting that certification to use for this weekend.
He said he hopes the event helps draw some attention to the museum, and maybe even gives couples some ideas who are planning their big days.
“Not a lot of people know about the Heritage Society,” Gregg said. “We wanted to create some activity around here to get people to see it and see what a great place it is.”