The Virgin Valley Theatre Group is performing their original Melodrama, “Wedding Belle Blues” this weekend at the Mesquite Community Theatre located at 150 N. Yucca St. The shows are Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
During the show there will be a wedding between two characters in the play, Paisley Tye (Francesca Gregerson) will be tying the knot with Brighton Early (Chad Calemet), or is it Slip Shod (Glen Bjornson)? You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out.
You might want to buy that ticket for Saturday night, March 19; there’s going to be a double wedding, and the second one will be on stage but not “staged.”
For the first time in the history of the Virgin Valley Theatre Group, there’s going to be a real wedding with a real engaged couple and officiant.
The wedding was the brainchild of Juber who recently became a wedding officiant and wanted to promote his new business venture. He couldn’t think of a better way to promote it than to hook up with the current theatre production which happened to be Wedding Belle Blues.
They ran a contest to get the perfect couple and David and Shelly were chosen for a free wedding courtesy of the Virgin Valley Theatre Group, Ken Juber and the Eureka Casino Resort who offered the winning couple a free night stay and dinner at Gregory’s.
The contest didn’t go as planned due to the various dates of the show and issues with scheduling. They didn’t get many applicants but they did get one couple willing to have a real wedding on stage during the intermission. They also had some interest from a couple that wanted to renew their vows. The couple that wanted to tie the knot for the first time is the couple who won.
On Saturday night, during intermission, David Paul Christensen and Shelly Donn Allen are getting hitched for real. The wedding will be performed by Ken Juber and the theatre group is footing the bill for the decorations and the venue of course.
If you want to be a part of this historical event, tickets are on sale now at the Mesquite Fine Arts Center, 15 W. Mesquite Blvd., or at the box office. The box office will open one hour before showtime.
The wedding contest rules were as follows:
“Wedding Bell Blues Live Marriage Contest” – 3/2/22
Eligibility and Rules:
To be eligible for the “live” marriage, couples must first possess a valid Nevada State Marriage License to be paid for by the couple. Marriage Licenses can be acquired at the Marriage License Office at Mesquite City Hall or by applying at any of the Marriage Licensing offices in the State of Nevada. Once the couple has a valid marriage license, they will need to acquire, fill out, and return a marriage contest application form to Nevada Marriage Officiant Ken Juber at least 7 days before their 1st chosen date for the marriage. Application forms are available by contacting Ken Juber at the following email address: MesquiteMarriageMan@gmail.com In addition to supplying the forms Ken Juber will arrange to meet the couple in person and ask them to present their IDs and Marriage License to confirm that all their documentation is in order and without error.
Within 2 days of receiving a completed application Ken Juber will work the Nancy Arnold, (the play director), and select members of the Theater’s Board of Directors in reviewing the applications for the contest.
The group reviewing the applications will be looking for the couples that would appear to be a “best fit” in the spirit of being married on stage in front of a live theater audience. Once selected, the “best fit” couple would be asked to attend a 15 minute interview at a place to be determined to ensure their enthusiasm and spirit is ready to be a part of this unique opportunity.
Once the final choice is made, the winning couple will be asked to attend a rehearsal at a time and date at the theater prior to their “live” wedding event.
Important Deadline Note: The last day to apply for the “live” marriage is Monday, May 7 at 11:59 pm. If there are no qualifying new marriage couple applicants for this contest by that date, the Theater Company, The Play Director, and The Marriage Officiant may choose to hold a “Wedding Vow Renewal” ceremony during a performance night at their discretion.
Any couples applying for this contest need to realize that due to the nature of this offer the wedding or renewal service needs to be a short and simple one that can be completed within 10 minutes from start to finish and under the direction of the Marriage Officiant. Couples seeking a more complex ceremony, a religious ceremony, or one lasting more than 10 minutes should not apply.
Any couples who are allowed to be legally married under Nevada State law may apply for this wedding promotion contest. Renewal couple applicants must be legally married.
Couples agree to comply with all rules and guidelines set forth by the Marriage Officiant and the Virgin Valley Theater Group.
NOTE: Only the Officiant, the Couple, and 1 designated Photographer, (if any, hired by the couple) will be allowed on stage during the wedding ceremony. The aforementioned individuals will also be granted free access to the theater venue on the wedding ceremony night.
Any groomsmen, bridesmaids, guests and family members must remain off of the stage and remain on the floor below the stage. Any family members, wedding party members, and wedding guests who do not plan to see the show will be allowed to enter the theater lobby at the start of intermission with the sole purpose of attending the wedding and then leaving the theater once the ceremony is complete. Those guests will need to stand in the back of the theater or in the aisles and should not take any open seats that may belong to a paying customer who may be taking a break at intermission. If any wedding guests wish to have seats and attend the play, then they will need to purchase tickets at $20 each to the theater performance and take seats among the audience before the start of the play on the wedding night. Guests attending the wedding who purchased seats may choose to leave after the wedding ceremony or stay until the play’s completion. No refunds will be issued for the early departure of wedding guests at the end of intermission.
In order for us to complete the entire wedding or renewal service in 10 minutes or less we are asking that you keep your guests list to 12 individuals or less.
The couple will need to provide the theater group with a list of guest’s names no less than 24 hours in advance so that the individuals planning to enter the theater to attend the wedding at intermission can be identified and granted admission to the venue.
(Please realize that due to theater capacity limits set by the fire marshal and the expected audience attendance on the wedding event night that the theater company management has the right to limit the amount of wedding guests that plan to attend).
Finally, if there are no applicants or no qualified applicants for the wedding contest or renewal ceremony, the theater, the play director, and the marriage officiant are under no obligation to award any prizes beyond March 26, (the last date for the performance) and the contest will be considered terminated.
Any questions regarding this promotion can be directed to Ken Juber Marriage Officiant at the contact email address posted above.