Mass Valentine's wedding & vow renewal ceremony held by Town of Wappinger
Wappinger Town Supervisor Joseph Cavaccini started this tradition last Valentine's Day as a matter of policy.
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Bobby and Jessi Oakley are one of 11 couples who participated in a mass Valentine's wedding and vow renewal ceremony held by the Town of Wappinger at the Carnwath Farms chapel.
"We found it online last minute, and decided that this is a good idea," Bobby said. "Everybody else was on board with it so here we are."
"We're a bunch of bikers, so we do things unplanned and rowdy, with just us close people," Jessi said.
The Oakley contingent celebrated the couple's nuptials with 11 other local couples who came Friday to renew their vows and have been married for decades.
Wappinger Town Supervisor Joseph Cavaccini started this tradition last Valentine's Day as a matter of policy.
"Our administration remains committed to bringing people together," Cavaccini said just before officiating the ceremony, "and events like this, where we're celebrating love, it's a perfect way to bring our neighbors together."
Bobby and Jessi Oakley met two and a half years ago at a biker's event.
Jessi's sister set them up.
"He bought me my first drink," Jessi said, "and then we never stopped talking after that."
They were the only couple to actually get married at this year's event.
The other couples have advice.
"If you're mad at your spouse, keep it to yourselves. Don't tell your family," said Chris Martin who has been married to her husband Michael for 34 years. "Say you're sorry before you go to bed, because if you tell your mother you're mad at your husband, your mother's going to remember for years you're mad at your husband."
"Continue to enjoy each other. We're best friends," Ray Weichel said of his wife Dawn to whom he has been married for 29 years. "I feel that way. I do. So we keep enjoying each other."
"This is the happiest either of us have ever been," Jessi said, "so it's the best thing for both us and our extended family.
