Running a busy hotel that does lots and lots of weddings means we get to see all kinds of different weddings. That was certainly the case this week, when we were chosen to host a wedding on a Monday night, specifically on Monday April 23.
The first question I think that crossed all of our minds was why a wedding on a non-holiday Monday night? This is an unusual occurrence to say the least.
So when I found out about it, I asked to speak with the happy couple to learn just what prompted such a date, and I learned a little bit more about the now-famous television series called "LOST" and the people who constitute(d) their avid fan base.
Adam Ruiz and Jaquelyn (Jacquii) Merrill were both fans of the show, and they actually met in an on-line forum for such fans. Over time their friendship deepened, she in California going to USC and he in Ohio. They eventually met in person, she eventually moved to Ohio, and that friendship resulted in a much more lasting relationship culminating in their marriage here this week.
So how do a couple living in such far-away states decide to get married at the Hawthorne Hotel? Well, she is from Billerica, and when they began to look for places to have their wedding, the Hawthorne Hotel seemed like a good place because they both really like Salem a lot, she had been to a wedding here some years before and enjoyed it, and since they would have a number of people coming from out of town, having the wedding in a hotel in a town where there were other things to do very proximate to the hotel would also be a good thing.
Here are some of the unique things they did to add a bit of "LOST" to their wedding, and to show their friends and family how much their meeting over a television show meant to them.
The tables did not have numbers but were named for the "stations" in the show. The stations were represented by symbols that you can see below.
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| Rather than a wedding cake, a cupcake tower with more "LOST" symbolism was their choice. |
Oh, yes, and why the Monday date? Well, evidently there were a series of numbers that ran through the show, appearing in many different ways, all seeming to point to something important. Those numbers were 4, 8, 15, 23 and 42. So when deciding their wedding date, they had those numbers to consider, and they chose 4/23 for a variety of personal reasons.
If you, like me, never watched the show, here is a link on Wikipedia that gives you more information:
LOST Television Series
I hope you enjoy learning more about this unique wedding, here at the Hawthorne Hotel.
Juli
Saturday April 28
