The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
By PJ Parker.
Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, was the perfect day of love for 11 local couples who chose to “tie the knot” in what township Mayor Phil Kramer called a “wedding palooza.”
Kramer, in his official capacity, regularly performs wedding ceremonies in the township municipal building on DeMott Lane.
Before the actual ceremonies began, the mayor welcomed every couple and their guests, congratulated the group, and gathered brides and grooms for group pictures.
Each bride was handed a long-stemmed red rose by Mayor Kramer’s bride of nearly 27 years, Laurie Conrad Kramer.
Alternating between the large conference room and the Township Council chamber, Kramer addressed each couple with congratulations, asking each, “Are you ready? Are you sure?” before beginning the nuptials.
Mayor Kramer read from a wedding ceremony script he had crafted with former Mayor Brian Levine. Parts of the script asked the couples to reflect on the true art of the marriage relationship, “as a mutual enrichment which diminishes neither yet enhances both.”
“You are never too old to hold hands,” he said, and “every day is the right day to say I love you.”
Citing his own nearly 27-year marriage to Laurie Conrad Kramer, Kramer also emphasized arguing in the marriage.
“You will argue,” he said, “but please remember, you must argue to resolve, not to be right.”
He finished each ceremony with congratulations again, introducing each couple, “here is the newest married couple in the whole world.”
Participating in the Valentine’s Day weddings were: Nicole Firman and Christian Brown, Chris Chihung Wang and Wen Wu Wang, Javier Barahona and Shelsy Juarez, Shante L. Scott and Ronald Adrian MaGregor Millington, Gabriela Lopez-Garcia and Pedro Antonio Garcia-Olivera, Ariel Rosario and Pornprapa Jenrungrotsakul, Elizabeth Morales-Fontanez and Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Sayed Moustafa, Melissa Menjivar and Francisco Josue Guillen Murillo, Jimmy Estevez and Yadira D. Urena, Daryl J. McCall-Evans and Linda Santiago and Josphat Ireri Mwenda and Caroline Muthoni Kiarie.
Mayor Kramer donates all fees generated from his services as officiant to Second Chance for Animals, which funds the Franklin Township Animal Shelter in the municipal complex on DeMott Lane.
This year’s Valentine’s Day wedding ceremonies sent $550 to the shelter.
When asked if this Valentine’s Day was particularly special, Kramer said, “there were so many couples here today, and it was especially nice to share it all with my wife here with me.”
Following is a photo gallery from the event (all photos by PJ Parker):
