Weddings

NORTHVILLIANS,

Switching gears from previous weeks’ notes on Memorial Day and Graduation activities, we will touch on the wedding season (June), which is in full swing in the Ville. The month of June is when flowers are blooming, and it’s been synonymous with weddings in our Hamlet in the Hills.

Appropriately, at the Mill Race Village, young love is in the air with many wedding celebrations. When I first became Mayor in 2019, a citizen asked me at my swearing-in ceremony if I would officiate their marriage. At the time, I didn’t realize that mayorship also included being “Justice of the Peace.”  Since then, I have married 67 couples, with ceremonies mostly at Mill Race but also at various homes, City Hall, and other venues in Northville.

History of Marriage

Many cultures have legends concerning the origins of marriage and the way their ceremonies are conducted. The first recorded evidence of marriage rituals dates back to around 2350 B.C. in ancient Mesopotamia and Babylon. Even within our lifetimes, we have witnessed how the ceremonial union of couples has evolved and changed over the years.

The month of June derives its name from Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. It was thought that couples who married in June would be blessed with prosperity & happiness for life.

Now let’s take a look at historic Northville Wedding Activities:

Weddings in Northville have always been celebrated in very unique & special ways. The Mill Race Village area is a prominent example of a popular, quaint and romantic venue.

1888 – Henry Ford spent his honeymoon with relatives in Northville, and he & wife Clara could be seen strolling along the riverbank. Eventually, Mr. Ford built an Albert Kahn-designed factory here that produced the valves for all Ford vehicles for over half a century, starting in 1919. Between Mr. Ford & Northvillian Rick Cox (in modern times), the City was deeded the land where the Mill Race Village and Ford Field are positioned today.

1929 – A high-flying marriage ceremony took place at 10,000 feet in a Stinson Aircraft produced in Northville (Stinson’s planes are highlighted in the Smithsonian & The Henry Ford Museum). Eddie Stinson, a Northville resident of Orchard Heights, was involved in this ceremony that took place between Toledo & Northville, with our Methodist Minister officiating in the air. The plane was painted with graphics that said, “Just Married.”

1931 – During the Great Depression, the marriage of a prominent Northville couple (Gertrude Parmenter & Donald Starr) occurred in front of a packed grandstand at the Wayne County Fair (on the grounds of Northville Downs). The couple had won a contest for an elaborate wedding ceremony with music provided by the Fair’s vaudeville orchestra. Northville merchants & businesses donated gifts (including a new Ford car). It was estimated that 2,500 attended the wedding at the Racetrack, with 75 or so celebrating at the reception in Orchard Heights.

1935 – Again, at the annual County Fair, an elaborate wedding took place uniting Herbert Ware and Madeline Lemmon in a carnival atmosphere. The ceremony was preceded by a trapeze act and a vaudeville show. According to The Record, a beautiful garden background theme was established for the event that year.

1999 – The bridegroom (Steve Skinner) made a grand entrance when his helicopter touched down at Northville’s Ford Field just in time for his wedding ceremony at the Mill Race Village.

Enjoy June in the Ville – see the trees in full bloom and the young ducklings, swans, and geese on the Mill Pond. Stroll the grounds of the Mill Race Village, walk through our historic downtown streets, and partake in the downtown social district this coming weekend. May the Roman Goddess Juno bless you with prosperity and happiness for life.

Keep that Northville June Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
BTurnbull@ci.northville.mi.us / 248.505.6849

(Reach out to me anytime or forward this communication to others interested.)

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