Local couple wins contest, marries at Kennywood
It’s one thing for people to get cold feet before getting married. It’s quite another, though, to get soaked after saying your wedding vows.
But that’s exactly what happened to a local couple that won a free wedding at Kennywood Park this past August, courtesy of a Pittsburgh radio station.
Scott and Julie Patterson, both 26, of Shoaf tied the knot at the Pittsburgh amusement park after winning a contest advertised on Kiss FM radio station.
The couple said they decided to enter the contest at the last minute.
“I heard a commercial on the radio station. They were looking for contestants who wanted to win a free wedding at Kennywood Park and at the last minute we figured why not,” said Scott.
Julie explained that the couple had planned to get married in fall of the 2004 and noted they were saving money for both the wedding and a new home.
But they decided to take the opportunity of a free wedding and put all of their savings toward their new home.
“It was a smart thing to do,” noted Bob Hutchinson, father of the bride.
“When I first heard about it I wasn’t so sure, but it was really nice. The radio station did a great job,” Hutchinson said.
Scott explained that all they had to do to enter the contest was describe in 96 words or less why they should get married Polynesian style at Kennywood.
“My thing is writing. So I sat down and decided to write a poem. It was titled ‘Getting Married Fayette County Style Sucks’, and it only took me 10 minutes to write. I e-mailed it to the radio station and I really never thought we would win it, but we did,” he said.
Only four days after they entered the contest the lucky couple found out they were going to get married Polynesian style at Kennywood and they had only eight days to prepare for the event.
“We did everything that most couples do when they get married, but we had to prepare much faster. I didn’t have much time to find a dress or pick out dresses for bridesmaids, but we made it happen,” Julie said.
According to Julie, her biggest problem was deciding what to wear for the biggest day of her life.
“We really didn’t know what to expect, so I went with a white cotton dress and my bridesmaids wore sarongs. The groomsmen wore Hawaiian shirts and khaki shorts,” she said.
Julie said the theme came from the Hawaiian ride Kennywood was promoting this past summer.
“The King Kahuna was the first thing we were required to ride as husband and wife. It was part of the ceremony,” Julie explained.
After they said their wedding vows, the new husband and wife took another leap of faith and buckled in for a ride on the King Kahuna.
It’s a ride that spins, flips and spits water at its passengers, getting them wet.
“I was really afraid to ride it, but it was fun. I’ll probably ride it again next year for our anniversary. It was great and the wedding was unique,” Scott said.
Scott and Julie explained that they were allotted 38 tickets for their wedding day and they had a difficult time deciding who to invite. So, they did the smart thing instead.
“The wedding was on a weekday. So we just found out who could get off work and who wanted to come. After that, we just told people they could buy a ticket if they wanted to be part of it and it worked out fine,” Julie said.
The couple said the radio station paid for the event, the food, photographer and the wedding cake.
“We didn’t even know that there was going to be a cake. We found out at the last minute. Julie had to cut the cake with a plastic knife,” noted Donna Zinn, mother of the groom.
“But the cake was traditional, unlike the wedding,” she added.
The wedding ceremony was just as unique as the park in which it was held, according to Scott.
“It was awesome. We had Hawaiian dancers, Polynesian music and a huge crowd,” Scott said.
Julie said the ceremony was great, noting one of the hula dancers did a traditional Hawaiian song and dance just for her.
She added that the park was filled with riders who attended their wedding.
“There was a massive crowd who watched the ceremony. They all clapped and yelled when we said I do, and they cheered us onto the King Kahuna. They also cheered Scott on telling him to smash the cake in my face,” Julie noted.
She added that she was a little sick right before she walked down the aisle.
“Nobody believed me. I told everyone when we got to Kennywood that I didn’t feel good. Finally, I found a bench and sat down for a while and then they believed me. I almost passed out a couple of times,” she said,
But Julie didn’t have cold feet or marriage jitters, she was sick from not eating.
“I didn’t want to eat anything because I wanted to save room in my stomach for Kennywood’s Potato-Patch french fries. I guess I should have eaten breakfast, but all I could think about was those fries,” she said.
It wasn’t until after their picnic dinner and a few rides that she finally had those fries.
“They were really good once I got them,” she added.
Scott and Julie said they spent most of the day with friends and family riding the rides at the park, and then they were picked up by a limo.
“It took us home and then we were off to our honeymoon in West Virginia,” Julie said.
“They paid for us to go to Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Resort for two nights, and they bought us dinner one night in a five-star restaurant,” she noted.
Maids of honor were Christine Jordan of Point Marion and Bobbi Jo Hutchinson of Connellsville; bridesmaids were Brooke Ciardi of Belle Vernon and Beth Metts of Uniontown.
Best men were Chad Metts of Uniontown and Christopher Jordan of Point Marion, while the groomsmen were Jeremy Patterson of Belle Vernon and Jason Rozner of Uniontown.
Parents of the bride are Bob Hutchinson of Mount Pleasant and Jackie Smithnosky of Scottdale. Parents of the groom are Donna and Dennis Zinn of Shoaf.