I have good news! You’re getting married! If you’re already married, you’re getting married again (let’s say it’s a parallel-universe thing, we’re not breaking anyone up here). Those are the rules, I’m just informing you of them. Anyway, you’re going to have the gearhead wedding of your dreams. The only question from here is where is the most Autopian place to get married?
I tied the knot with my wife on October 1, 2022. We aren’t flush with cash and couldn’t afford typical wedding venues. I mean, someone wanted to rent their horse stable for $20,000. That’s a lot of money to dance in a place that smells horrible. We found a chocolate factory for $1,000, but this too was an olfactory infraction: the smell of chocolate was so pungent that after just 5 minutes in the place, my sense of smell was practically destroyed for the rest of the day. I doubt even a wedding of Oompa-Loompas officiated by Willy Wonka could stand conducting a whole wedding in there.
We had no luck with other venues. All the more traditional wedding spaces were more than I’ve even paid for a new Smart. We quickly realized that so much of the wedding industry just seems like a scam. Why is a basic empty barn $30,000 for what, five hours of time? Why is it that bouquets are affordable until you place the word “wedding” in front of them? I can order a cheap cake anytime, but to get one for a wedding is exponentially more expensive.
It then hit me, what about a museum? I’m a member of the Experimental Aircraft Association and the organization has an epic museum up in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
I checked into it and sure enough, EAA does rent out spaces for events, including weddings. Even better was the fact that the price to rent out the whole museum was not much more than I spend on broken VWs. The only catch was that your event had to start after the museum closes at 5 pm. That was fine by me because I didn’t want my wedding to take an entire day.
Things got even cooler when the EAA said it takes special requests. I arranged for the wedding party to enter through hangar doors while Danger Zone blasted in the background. All of us were wearing aviators and I have to admit, that was a total blast.
Sheryl and I originally planned to get married under, in, or near a space shuttle, but the pricing floor for one of those weddings starts at $22,000. That price doesn’t include food, booze, entertainment, decorations, or anything else. Seriously, it’s $22,000 to basically be near a space shuttle and that’s about it.
So, I’m glad the folks of EAA haven’t fallen for the wedding industry trap. I think all-in, including alcohol, food, and dresses, we paid maybe $15,000. We had such a great time that we’ve completely forgotten about that space shuttle plan. Plus, we got to kiss in front of some of great aviation history!
Let’s play a bit and say you have a wedding coming. Your wedding has to be themed after transportation. Where are you getting married?
I did recently see two people get “married” (not sure it was official) at the Gambler 500 in Colorado a couple weeks ago.
That’s pretty gear-head.
I know I am a bit late to comment here, but I am surprised I didn’t see this…At the Woodward Dream Cruise in the center berm of Woodward maybe at 9 Mile…12 or 13 might be nice too.
How about we start a pool on when David Tracy gets married, and where? In LA, Peterson museum??
I have rented the EAA museum for a corporate event, it’s epic. I also was once an employee of said museum back in the 80’s but that’s another story.
For the cheapskate gearhead:
City Hall for the ceremony – because it literally costs nothing more than the license.
(You’d have to pay the judge to meet you at the DMV)
Then your local Lexus Dealer for the reception
“Open Coffee Bar Everyone!”
Automotive Hall Of Fame in Dearborn, Mi is available and MUCH cheaper than the adjacent Henry Ford Museum or Greenfield Village.
I got married in front of GM’s RenCen and next to a (sometimes) race track. We just went to the courthouse in Detroit though
Where Is The Most Gearhead Place To Get Married?
A junkyard.
Meadow Brook Hall, obviously.
Especially since Fair Lane is mostly closed for restoration work at the moment
Maybe at the Cadillac Ranch! I don’t know if you can do that.
Also your dress is gorgeous and I’m very happy for you.
Most museums I’ve ever been to have function/conference rooms and I’m sure would accommodate a wedding.
My wife, while not a gearhead, still appreciates classic machines (more than she will let on). Our wedding was on a riverfront restaurant and we departed the reception in a classic V8 mahogany skiboat which suited our love of being on the water, her desire for something classy, and the gearhead in me.
Two words: Car Show
Other two words: Swap Meet
We got married at our family-built cabin in the Lake Tahoe area. Our honeymoon was very much car-themed as we spent the next almost-year on the road in our ’76 VW camper bus.
You can get married at the Henry Ford!
https://www.thehenryford.org/host-an-event/weddings/
If you want to take your “Danger Zone” theme a step further, looks like the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi, TX is available for weddings. Bonus, you can also book their escape rooms, flight simulators, and arrange an overnight camping on-board.
Also, the Blackbeard restaurant right near there has the best key lime pie I’ve ever had
Never tried Blackbeard’s. Wife is too big a fan of Water Street Grill, so we always go there when in Corpus. I’ll have to try it next time.
How about getting married while doing a lap in a vintage pace car at Indianapolis Motor Speedway? As you cross the finish line the Pastor says, “You may now enter Turn One.”
Some friends of mine had their wedding reception at Elvis’ Car Museum in Graceland. Lots of great stuff there.
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/elvis-presley-car-museum.html?sortBy=relevant
So when I read the headline I was thinking cheesy gearhead place to get married. How about at a Nascar race or better yet a cruise night.
If we are going transportation themed more classy cool, yes, there are any number of venues. A surviving and renovated old central train station is one idea, a d I think with their marble columns and floors they are often used for those purposes.
If you really want to go all in on historic transportation, the Smithsonian air and space museum in D.C. (if you can do it).
That’s almost all the Boise train depot is used for. I’ve been to a few weddings/receptions there and it is fantastic. Nice open floor, the old ticket counter as the bar, big windows, and great views of Boise for photos.