'Marry' Christmas
Ho-ho-hope was in the air at a very special wedding Saturday.
Evans City native Gretel Foster and her boyfriend of five years, Sarver native Ryan Burlett, were married by Santa Claus himself in a small, Pittsburgh Penguins-themed wedding at Mac's Cafe.
The couple will still go through with the traditional nuptials they had planned for February in Las Vegas, but the bride said the couple decided to make it legal before the end of 2017 as a matter of financial practicality.
“It's for health insurance reasons,” Gretel said.
So in the interest of having some fun with their unexpected early nuptials, the couple decided to dress in their favorite Penguins shirts and jeans.
Gretel wore a Marc-Andre Fleury T-shirt and the shoulder-length veil and headpiece worn in 1985 by her mother, Betty, when she married Gretel's father Larry. She also carried a bouquet of off-white silk flowers made by her mother.
Ryan was clad in a Sidney Crosby T-shirt.
“This is the norm for us,” Ryan said. “We like to do things differently.”
Marrying the two was the Jolly Old Elf himself, who some say resembles a longtime family friend of the Fosters', Evans City Mayor Dean Zinkhann.
“It's a beautiful, merry day,” exclaimed Santa before the ceremony. “Ho, ho ho!”
After being presented to Santa by Larry Foster, about 15 close family members and friends watched the couple legally tie the knot.
Santa advised the pair that the love in their hearts would never grow old and would sustain them through the ups and downs of their lives together.
He also recommended creating a home of love and warmth.
“Listen to Santa,” he said. “Don't go to bed angry.”
One snafu occurred when Santa asked Gretel to produce the ring she would place on Ryan's finger.“Can somebody get my purse?” said the sniffling bride.After Betty Foster retrieved the ring and it was placed on the groom's finger, Santa held a sprig of mistletoe over the couple.“I, Santa Claus, now pronounce you man and wife,” he said.The couple and their guests enjoyed a meal from the Mac's Cafe menu in addition to cupcakes and chocolates.The groom's mother and stepfather, Debbie and Mark Kriss, were thrilled with the unconventional ceremony because it means the two have become one.“We're very happy,” said Debbie. “He found the right one.”The Krisses explained that the couple is obsessed with the Penguins and even planned their Las Vegas wedding to coincide with a Vegas Golden Knights hockey game, where Gretel will get to see Fleury play.Fleury won three Stanley Cup Championships with the Penguins, which was his longtime team before he moved to Las Vegas last year.“I'm very sad about (Fleury's trade),” said Gretel. “I”m heartbroken.”The couple's entire living room is covered in Penguins items, wall to wall.“They're obsessed with the Penguins,” said Debbie.The bride's father summed up the thoughts of those who attended the Burletts' unusual and touching wedding on Saturday.“They're both happy together and they're going to be a great couple,” said Larry Foster.
