Last night, Charles Gibson -
sporting a wonderfully pink tie - introduced Americans to the idea of Mockitecture. The news segment featured Reverend Darrell Best's
mobile wedding chapel, a fascinating vehicle part historic fire engine, part church. Lovingly named the
Best Man, this "wedding machine" features stained glass windows and miniature pipe organs. The fire engine - with its functionally rough and rugged personality - has collided with the church, which in it's own right is rather good natured and mild mannered. The
Best Man is satisfyingly eclectic and undoubtedly complex and contradictory. Such a provocative pairing of religion and emergency response does in fact elicit a few questions. The most pressing would be why a mobile church is not an imitation of Reverend Best's permanent church in Shelbyville, Illinois? After seeing images of the
Best Wedding Chapel (shown below), I must admit I was quite disappointed by the fire truck version of the church.
On the other hand, I was thrilled to discover the opportunities a sturdy truck frame can provide: the possibilities are endless! Ironically, since Rev. Best is the driver of the truck, he must outsource his own job to another ordained minister willing to engage in rather unconventional practice: marrying a couple at breakneck speed. As a result, the truck-church now curiously remains parked for weddings which takes most, if not all, of the excitement out of getting married in a vehicle. Happy couples are left to get married in parking lots rather than on the open road. Despite these (and I'm sure other) setbacks, I appreciate Reverend Best's radical ideas. Be sure to catch the 2 minute news segment on
YouTube.
1 comment:
Being the owner of the chapel I can answer the questions and comments brought up in the article. First off, it is a family business with four ordained ministers so there is no need to find one for weddings on the go. Second, it a a little white washed church, not a replica of the historic chapel in Shelbyville. Who would build a brick church on the back of a truck? Thanks again to the crew of Trick my Truck for creating the mobile wedding chapel. We love it so do the couples we have married on it. Thanks for the article, glad I could straighten out the facts.
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