Gettin' hitched at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

Aug. 8—STURGIS, S.D. — Johnny Hope and Diana Joy flew into Sturgis to do two things: Get married and ride.

They are two of the almost 200,000 visitors who have traveled to the city from across the country for the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. An 83-year tradition, the rally is also a magnet for vendors, including knife and leather craftspeople, motorcycle part manufacturers and dozens of food booths.

The list of things to do at the rally is expansive. Riders can rent a motorcycle to cruise the Black Hills, get a tattoo or listen to live music at a biker hangout.

They can also get married in 11 minutes at an eyeglass store, if they want.

Hope and Joy flew in from South Carolina, shipping their motorcycles to arrive with them. The couple chose to officiate their union at the Hitchin' Post, a wedding venue the size of a single bedroom tucked in the corner of an eyeglass store on the north side of the city of Sturgis.

Joan Pillen is the officiator at the Hitchin' Post, and the owner of J&J Optical, the lens crafter and eyeglass store the wedding venue is located in. She has presided over weddings from her storefront for 20 years.

Dozens of couples get married at the Hitchin' Post every year, Pillen said.

With the number of couples who come to the event for this specific occasion, the Meade County Courthouse has struck a deal with her: They will carry her business card, and refer couples to her for their wedding needs, so as to keep the courthouse from crowding up too much during the week-long event.

Pillen and her husband, Jubal Pillen, opened the eyeglass store on July 17, 2000. Joan Pillen, also an author of a series of books in the mystical/mystery genre, developed the idea to officiate weddings when she first became a certified officiator to marry her friends.

"We decided, really, 'I could do rally weddings. Wouldn't that be fun?'" Pillen said. "And it has just become a wonderful part of our lives."

Pillen said she doesn't have a set schedule for wedding appointments anymore, though she used to painstakingly organize each appointment in an Excel Spreadsheet. Now, she said it's a pretty go-with-the-flow ordeal: couples will contact her before-hand with specific requests for the ceremony, then they come in and she marries them.

"If you have a certain lyric of a song, or a Bible verse, or a lot of times the bride and groom will pull out pieces of paper and read something to each other," Pillen said.

Pillen had Hope and Joy face each other as she played the Bridal Chorus on a series of glass bowls. At 11:11 a.m., Pillen began the ceremony by asking each couple if they had their rings.

At 11:30 a.m., Pillen handed Joy-Hope a copy of one of her books, and the newlyweds walked out of the store.

The ceremonies average 11 minutes long, and cost $100.

There is a misconception that the folks who get married at her store are pulling a "shotgun wedding" scenario, but Pillen said that is never the case.

"That's a bad perception. Lots of times it's a second wedding, or they've lost their spouses or something didn't work out," Pillen said.

The Meade County Courthouse will vet those who are applying for a marriage license who have only just met, are inebriated or if they appear to be marrying for financial gain.

"They learned their lessons and they're trying it a different way," Pillen said, after completing Hope and Joy's wedding. "They're not coming from a place of naivety or on a whim, it's very thought out."

This is Hope and Joy's first time visiting the rally, and they said they are looking forward to exploring the South Dakota landscape on their honeymoon, including Devils Tower National Monument.

After they take their marriage certificate to the courthouse, that is.

The Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is a 10-day event, and ends Sunday, Aug. 13.