Dude You May Kiss Your Bride

When a friend of mine informed me that the first ever Sturgis North was being held in Salmon Arm, a small town within an hour and a half drive from Kamloops, I was ecstatic.  How nice of the Universe to bring Sturgis to me.

            It never occurred to me how I was going to afford the almost $300 entrance fee for the weekend I just knew that it would somehow work itself out.  On the Friday morning as I packed for the weekend, my friend Wendy called and informed me she had an extra ticket for sale for $100.  Of course she did...lol!  I promptly drove to the Brew Pub in Salmon Arm where I met with her and her friends to begin my most awesome weekend. 

            Salmon Arm was a biker’s paradise; there were more bikes than cars filling the streets adding a high level of excitement to the small sleepy town.  The average age appeared to be late 30’s to early 60’s and they were riding everything from crotch rockets to custom choppers.

            The event took place in a few different locations with the two main venues being the fair grounds in downtown Salmon Arm and the main stage in a field outside of town.

            Since we were already downtown near the fairgrounds that’s where we started our day checking out the custom bikes on display and eating deep fried ice cream. And that’s where I witnessed my first ever biker wedding.  Seven men in matching shirts pulled up to the front of the stage on their Harleys then six women in thigh high black leather boots and short tight black dresses walked toward the stage and got into position.  An audience wearing a myriad of leather vests and chaps quickly formed and the event was ready to begin.

Usually at this point in a wedding the sounds of  Canon in Major D– Johann Pachelbel fade into a chorus of  Here Comes the Bride but this was no traditional wedding.  Classical music was replaced by the sound of a motorcycle muffler as the bride circled the crowd on a Harley before pulling up to the stage to take her place with the black leather priest and her do-wrap wearing groom. A short ceremony with a story about how the couple loved to ride together ended with, “Dude, you can kiss your bride”.  The crowd cheered, the book was signed and the bridal party hopped onto the bikes for a cruise through town. 

Love was in the air and it seemed to spread throughout the entire event as couples hung out and new couples formed. So did love happen for me too?  I don’t like to kiss and tell (wink). 

Check out our websites and follow the action as we prepare for Sturgis North 2012.  www.sturgisnorth.com and www.journeytosturgisnorth.com