Kenny Podmore has married famous people, neighbours, family, friends and strangers – some who became friends – over the last 10 years.
And boy does he have some stories.
Hot mic hilarity and a runaway puppy are among the memories he can share after a decade as a marriage commissioner.
It was such a good time, the Sidney man practically begged his employers, BC Vital Statistics, to allow a couple more years – to make up for the time lost during the pandemic.
He was immediately drawn to the idea of bringing two people together in marriage the minute he saw the ad for a Sidney/North Saanich position. After applying, he and nine others were summoned for an in-person interview.
“And they video you,” he recalled. “I think the video is the final thing, to see how you would fare doing an actual ceremony.”
Podmore must have fared well, earning the first five-year appointment. They liked his work enough to reinstate a second five years – adding up to the longest a commissioner can serve.
“I’ve had a wonderful 10 years and I’ll always say that but I lost two. The other eight made up for it.”
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It’s just one of many jobs Podmore has held since he came to Canada from the UK more than two decades ago as a retired transportation department head for a social services agency who also spent time as a military police officer. He and his wife Anita – married 24 years – moved to Sidney and fell in love with the community.
There are only two legal requirements to the marriage ceremonies. He’s required to ask if there are lawful impediments to the marriage and pose the question to each partner if they take the other.
After that, Podmore’s all mush.
“I do talk about love a lot. I don’t make it too lovey, but I do say to the couple and guests I’d like to reflect on one moment … two people met, fell in love, and here we are today,” he said. “That’s how I used to start all my ceremonies.”
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Humour is the second-most exposed emotion during the ceremonies.
He recalls a beautiful New Year’s Eve wedding at a mansion in Highlands, one the bride still teases him about. See Podmore meets with his couples as many times as they’d like until they’re comfortable with him so she got to know them quite well and still sees them around.
During this ceremony, as the exchange of rings approached, he dropped them.
“I forgot we were mic’d up,” Podmore said. “I said to the groom, ‘I think it’s under your foot’ … from there on we all had the giggles.”
Dropping rings happened rarely on his watch. He learned quickly to get a rubber pad and keep a firm grip on the key pieces of jewelry.
“You learn from your mistakes.”
But everyone knows he’s not the first responsible for those tokens of love and commitment.
Right or wrong, that’s often left to children or furry family members.
Once a dog was responsible for getting the rings down the aisle during a ceremony at the Conservatory of Music in downtown Victoria.
“They said, ‘He’ll be at the door with a friend and once we’re ready for the rings we’ll call him and he’ll come,’” Podmore said.
When they called, he ran.
“We finally got him and the rings had gone, they’d come off in the Conservatory of Music somewhere,” Podmore said with a chuckle.
They decided to just skip the ring part.
Another couple had a purpose-made collar for their cat that came down the aisle in a stroller. Once it arrived at the front however, they all searched and searched in vain. Eventually, the photographer and Podmore offered up their rings for the moment.
The following day he asked if they ever found the rings.
“(The couple) said (the rings) were at home. ‘We forgot to put them on the cat’s collar.’ It turned out fun. Their guests were with it,” he said.
Sometimes it’s as much about getting there as the venue. When he was invited to do a wedding on Sidney Island, he said he’d meet them at the marina – the more common way to make the quick trip across.
“Oh no, we’ll fly you over,” he recalled them saying. “I think we were taxiing longer than we were in the air.”
Once the two-seater stopped on Sidney Island, Podmore heard a thumping and bumping, then noticed trucks and cars barrelling out of the woods as the locals descended on the venue.
“That was a highlight.”
He’s married famous couples whose names he cannot and will not disclose and holds all his couples in high regard – much like the many venues.
One couple that stands out is a couple in their 80s tying the knot on a beach in Sidney.
“The venues I’ve been to, I won’t say which is my favourite because they’re all lovely. There really are so many beautiful venues.”
He’s made marriages at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel, Starling Lane Winery, Craigdarroch Castle, VanDusen Botanical Gardens, Horticulture Centre of the Pacific and his final ceremony Sept. 9 at Langtry Walk in Central Saanich.
In the decade between Podmore’s first wedding and his last, it rarely rained during the ceremony, he got to wear his official town crier regalia at least once and many, many times he’s been emotional.
He’s married friends and made friends.
Marriage commissioner is a calling he recommends, should anyone get the chance.