Lakeland couple to say 'I do' on float in city's 41st annual Christmas Parade
LAKELAND — A Lakeland couple that once considered a quiet elopement have opted to exchange their marriage vows before thousands at the city's 41st annual Christmas parade.
Eric Daniel, a 42-year-old Polk County Public Schools teacher and actor, plans to say “I do” to nurse Joy Richter, 40, on a float as it makes its way through downtown Lakeland on Dec. 1. The float is sponsored by Polk County Weddings and Event Pros, a group of wedding and events-related business owners.
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"We've researched it and think it will be a first," said event planner Lora Gardner, of Perfect Day Productions. "It is exciting and we've dubbed it 'Lakeland's largest wedding' as we will have the City of Lakeland present at this event."
Gardner said she felt inspired while watching the 2021 parade to commit the business group to taking part next year. The idea grew and morphed into a full-blown wedding.
"This is what we do every day: We marry people," she said. "Can we actually do a marriage on a float? This has been a year in the making."
More than a dozen small businesses and volunteers will come together to transform a truck into a scenescape of Victorian wedding next Thursday, Gardner said. It will feature Christmas trees, fresh garlands and old-fashioned lamp posts extensively trimmed in red, gold and green.
Polk County Weddings and Events Pros wanted to find a local, deserving couple to donate the ceremony and private reception valued at more than $20,000. Their industry had been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as they wanted to honor those who served on the frontline.
The Happy Couple
That's where Daniel and Richter entered. The couple met through a dating app and had their first date at Grillsmith in Lakeside Village. It was a near miss as Daniel said he received a text from Richter saying she was in front of the restaurant, but he only could only spot a completely different woman.
"She was actually still walking up to the restaurant and looked 100% exactly like her photo," he said.
In May, Daniel said he proposed to Richter after a Kane Brown concert in Tampa. The couple was looking at having a quiet, private elopement possibly in Savannah, Georgia or Charleston, South Carolina, according to Daniel.
Their busy schedules kept interfering, so Daniel said they called Pastor Crystal Porter, a wedding official and ordained minister with Bay Chapel in Wesley Chapel.
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"This couple reached out to me two weeks ago seeking something quiet, private and intimate, sweet and short," she said. "Even though it will be crazy, we are going to make this meaningful and precious."
Porter told the couple about the contest for the free wedding ceremony onboard the float and private reception. Daniel said he didn't expect to be chosen and recalled his fiancée's shocked and yet terrified reaction.
"She's told me we should have eloped several times since," he said, laughing. "From the time we hit the gas pedal, it was 18 days to go."
Ceremony details
The rented vehicle for the float will arrive at the RP Funding Center at approximately 1 p.m. on Dec. 2, according to Gardner. Then it will be all hands on deck to decorate the float before the 7 p.m. parade start and prepare the couple's private reception.
Porter said the ceremony is being timed so the couple will be pronounced “husband and wife” in front of the livestream video and judge's stand to allow the most people to view it.
"It's perfect," Daniel said. "All those people across the country who can't come down can see it in real time."
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After their vows, the couple will share their first dance on the float, cut into their wedding cake and share a celebratory toast. They'll get a chance to repeat this two more times along the parade route, according to Porter.
The couple will be joined by four of their five children onboard the float as guests, along with a DJ and photographer.
With about a week to go, the groom said he's excited but finding himself second-guessing a bit.
"I feel like I haven't done enough, I keep asking what needs to be done," he said. "Am I missing something? Everyone here, every business has really reached out and taken care of us."
Daniel said the bride's parents will get the opportunity to escort her into the private reception being held at SpringHill Suites immediately following the parade. The couple expects around 40 family members and friends to join them for the celebration.
Sara-Megan Walsh can be reached at swalsh@theledger.com or 863-802-7545. Follow on Twitter @SaraWalshFl.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lakeland Christmas parade: Couple to say 'I do' during annual event
