A Christina Lake couple clad in pirate outfits, tricorn hats and swords has become the first in B.C. to tie the knot under the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (CFSM).
Dani Magnussen and Jaromir Pavlat said their vows Sept. 19 before Dread Pirate Higgs, also known as Gary Smith, leader of the church in the province.
Smith has been locked in a dispute with the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) about being allowed to wear a pirate hat for his driver’s licence photo. ICBC has repeatedly turned down his requests.
Also a provincially licenced marriage commissioner, Smith opened the ceremony with a unique prayer.
“Our Noodly Lord Who Art in a Colander,” Smith addressed those gathered for the event.
“Al dente be thy noodles. I bless thy rum. Thou sauce be yum. With meat as it is with vegetables. Give us this day our garlic bread, and forgive us our cussing as we forgive those who cuss against us... For thine are the noodles and the sauces and the grog whenever and ever. R’Amen. R’Amen. R’Amen.”
With that, the Pavlat addressed those gathered for the garden event.
“I love you, darling, that is true. And I want to spend my life with no one else.”
To which the Magnussen responded: “I could not possibly love anyone more.”
Smith called on the witnesses to raise any objections to the marriage, and asked the couple to make their solemn declarations and a more traditional exchange of vows as lawfully wedded pirates.
Witnesses – some in pirate outfits, others in spaghetti monster hats and one in a sombrero — draped cooked noodles over the couple’s joined hands. The couple then ate the spaghetti and kissed.
Smith produced a hip flask and the couple drank cups of grog.
“I present you Dani and Jaromir, pirates forever,” Smith said.
“Arrr, arr, arr” came pirate noises of approval from the crowd.
Magnussen, who hails from Thunder Bay, Ont., told Glacier Media the couple met online playing video games. Pavlat is from a bit further afield – Vienna, Austria.
“He immigrated here to be with me,” Magnussen said, noting the wedding could be the church’s first in Canada. “I got to marry the man of my dreams.”
The newlyweds members of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster, which holds regular services in Grand Forks, roughly 20 kilometres to the west of Christina Lake.
“We don’t like organized religions,” Pavlat said. “So, having a new religion that makes fun of other religions... we got married.”
