CAMAS — It’s not every day that a wedding comes with its own movie blurb and rating.
Then again, it’s not every day that a wedding is held at the Liberty Theatre in Camas. Weddings in the theater don’t really happen on any day, as Liberty Theatre Managing Director Rand Thornsley attested after the marriage of Nick Calais, 31, and Tami Weidert, 33, in the Main Theatre on Friday afternoon.
“One-time event, and it will never happen again. This is it,” Thornsley said. “It’s a good thing for the community.”
The exception came for Weidert and Calais, since the couple celebrated their wedding as part of Camas First Friday: “A Wedding Affair to Remember,” which started at 2 p.m. with the matrimony, and continued with a celebration downtown until 8 p.m. Weidert, who’s from Athena, Ore., and Calais, who’s from California, have wiggled their way into the heart of the Camas community by being present at nearly every First Friday since April 2015 — Nick has made them all, and Tami has missed a couple. The idea for a First Friday wedding was sparked at the January 2017 First Friday when Downtown Camas Association Director Carrie Schulstad suggested as an off-hand joke that the couple should make their wedding a First Friday celebration, since Weidert was set on having the most inclusive wedding possible. Schulstad only had one request before they moved forward with the wedding planning: she wanted to make sure Weidert’s mom was on board. Judy Weidert, who made the trip from Athena, thought the idea was perfect.
“Their personalities and how much they love community, and how much they love experiencing First Friday, and how important it is for each of them to be connected to people, it’s a great solution,” Judy said.
Schulstad’s joke turned serious Friday when the theater filled with friends, family and community members. Guests received movie popcorn as they entered the theater, where a slideshow played First Friday and engagement photos of Calais and Weidert. A fake movie poster featuring the couple kissing was stationed in front of the Theatre. It said the wedding was rated L for love, and included a blurb from Schulstad that read: “A great love story.”
“Camas is very inclusive and very kind and very accepting and likes to have fun,” Schulstad said. “You get a couple like them who really embodies it, and it’s a really good fit.”
More than 25 local merchants helped throw the wedding by supplying everything from portable toilets to the wedding cake. Mayor Scott Higgins, who officiated the wedding, noted how unique the ceremony was before it began.
“It’s not every day that a couple invites a city to their wedding,” Higgins joked.
Higgins has gotten to know Calais and Weidert through conducting pre-marriage counseling with them — something he required from the couple before he agreed to marry them. Higgins has done hundred of weddings before as a minister, but he mentioned this wedding will probably be a “highlight” of his time as mayor.
“It adds to what we all think is the unique charm of Camas,” Higgins said. “It’s a growing community, but I think at its soul Camas still thinks it’s a couple thousand people, and everyone knows everybody, and events like this kind of remind us of that, and hold us to that.”
Weidert and Calais said the wedding went perfectly, even though Weidert joked she teared up a little more than she wanted. Weidert began her vows by thanking pop artist Carly Rae Jepsen, who made “Call Me Maybe,” the song that played when Calais handed his phone number to Weidert. The couple exchanged jokes during their vows, including a back and forth on the right way to do the dishes — Calais believes in efficiently filling the dishwasher; Weidert just throws everything in.
“I’ll try to do the dishes the right way,” Weidert joked.
“There’s only one right way to do the dishes,” Calais retorted.
Then Higgins joked that they still have some marriage counseling to do. The couple also reminisced about entries into various love journals they’ve kept since meeting in Portland in 2012. Since Calais moved into Weidert’s house on the Vancouver-Camas border about four years ago, First Friday has helped him acclimate to the area. And First Friday reminds Weidert of her hometown of about 1,200 people. Many of the guests Friday were friends or family, but the couple noted they saw random community members, which was the aim of having a public wedding.
“They’re part of our marriage now,” Weidert said.
