Connecticut newlyweds hitch ride in fire truck to wedding reception after bus blaze

For Chris and Paul Novotny, marriage has been an excellent adventure.

Neither dated anyone else before their five-year courtship led to a 1992 wedding. They set up housekeeping in Antioch, Illinois; he works for UPS and she’s a flight attendant for American Airlines.

Sounds like a conventional life, but it’s had a bit of a hippie vibe. Chris loves to wear long, flowing vintage clothes with fringe. They named their son Mullen, 14, after U2’s drummer Larry Mullen Jr.

And they own a vintage VW microbus, though it’s currently on the fritz.

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That’s a shame, because it would have been the perfect vehicle for perhaps their greatest adventure of all: They drove eight hours last weekend to renew their wedding vows at Omaha’s Junkstock, part of an epic 25th anniversary celebration.

Chris says the huge vintage goods festival — advertised as three days of peace, love and junk — is her happy place.

“My friends are going to Italy, but I’d rather be at Junkstock. I just love the whole atmosphere,” she said before walking down the short, grassy aisle. “I love the hippie part of it.”

Weddings, vow renewals and anniversary parties are the newest addition to the six-year-old flea market that’s held on an expansive former farm near Waterloo.

Founder Sara Alexander hopes to host such events all year, not just during Junkstock. Workers built what she’s calling the Tiny Wedding Chapel out of repurposed wood, windows and doors, and it’s decorated with vintage items such as crates and candles. In addition, antique tables and overstuffed couches and chairs under an awning serve as a reception “hall.”

She’s also hired an event coordinator, Debbie Martin, to organize decorations, food, photography and other necessities with couples.

The Novotnys seemed destined to be the first to use the Tiny Wedding Chapel. Knowing she would dig it, Paul brought Chris to her first of several Junkstocks a few years ago after word of the event spread beyond Omaha. Chris was overwhelmed.

“We were sitting in some old chairs, and I turned to him and said ‘I am so happy you brought me here. It’s one of the nicest things you’ve done for me,’ ” she said of their first trip. “Then I started crying.”

Paul was a little more reluctant to come this time because the couple was to leave that weekend for an anniversary vacation in Hilton Head, South Carolina. He didn’t think they could drive to and from Omaha and still make their flight.

But Chris convinced him that they needed to do it. They stayed here one night, had the ceremony the next day and were on the road home that evening. Chris’ best friend, Vicky Larson, came along as maid of honor, and Mullen came, too.

The hippie-traditional “wedding” took place in 90-degree temperatures and gooey humidity. Chris wore a long, multicolored dress with spaghetti straps, a muslin jacket with fringe and hand-painted cowboy boots. A wreath of baby’s breath rested on her head, and she carried a bouquet with the same flowers. Paul wore a flowered shirt and shorts, with a baby’s breath boutonniere.

The bride walked up the aisle to “I’ll Never Find Another You,” a 1967 hit by the Seekers. Licensed minister Mike Martin, formerly of Lifegate Church, was the presider. The couple quietly recited vows they wrote themselves and exchanged vintage rings in the intimate ceremony.

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