Letters

As long as I have been a KISS fan, I have dreamed of having a KISS themed wedding. Good thing I married a KISS fan! We made it official on November 11, 2011. The reception was held at a music club outside Chicago. Instead of guests picking up name cards with their table numbers, when our guests arrived they received a concert ticket to �The Hottest Wedding Reception in the World� with their table name. Each table was named after a different KISS album, with the album cover on display and �Black Diamond� accents as part of the table decor. Our wedding program served as a �Tour Book� and each guest also received a custom printed guitar pick. One of our wedding cakes was based on the �Rock and Roll Over� album cover � with each member�s face made in 3-D with fondant! We had three big screens up at the venue playing rock 'n roll music videos throughout the night. And, of course, Mark and I had our first dance to �Forever� by KISS. We also had a green screen set up so guests could have pictures taken with fun backgrounds (many thanks to Kenny and Teresa Begley for their help!) You can see Mark and me on the cover of �Love Gun� in the photo. To top it off, what better way to end the night than with a live band? Our friends, Strutter, closed out the wedding reception with a bang (we had custom made earplugs ready for our guests as well!) Strutter played a complete two-hour set with all our favorite songs and stage effects, plus surprises throughout the concert that made our night very special. The biggest surprise came at the end of �Rock n Roll All Nite� when I was called onto the stage to smash a guitar - it was something I never even dreamed of doing, let alone while wearing a wedding dress. After the disbelief that I was really going to smash one of their guitars, I did it, and it was a lot of fun (now I know why Paul does it at the end of every show!) We had the most amazing day of our lives. There is nothing like hearing the compliments from our guests that made all this hard work pay off. It was truly, a night to remember! Amanda & Mark Youmans