Minister For Hire Walks Out On Wedding
If you're in Ohio and hire Gillian Kresila to officiate your wedding, you'd better not disobey her no-alcohol rule or you'll be sorry. Kresila discovered that the 23-year-old bride, Erin Kuhns, had toasted her magic day with a glass of wine, and she walked out on the wedding a few minutes before it was scheduled to start.
Kuhns said Kresila saw one of her bridesmaids with an alcoholic beverage and asked Kuhns if she had been drinking. Kuhns told her yes, she had a glass of wine to toast the wedding, and Kresila told her she was told not to drink before the wedding and would not perform the ceremony because of it.
Kuhns said that while Kresila never told them not to drink, the rehearsal coordinator who works with Kresila mentioned at the rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding not to drink alcohol and also to drink plenty of water and eat, so no one would get got sick. They didn't meet the reverend until the day of the wedding.
Kresila, who works for a company that provides non-denominational ministers for events, told the press that it's against the law in Ohio to marry people under the influence, so to keep things simple she has a zero-tolerance policy. Which is sort of understandable if the law really said that, but it doesn't:
Ohio law only refers to not providing a marriage license to someone under the influence.
The couple found a replacement minister through a relative and got married anyway, drunk or not, and although Kresila hasn't refunded their $50 deposit, they haven't paid her the rest of the $100 fee either. They also say they aren't planning on suing her, which surely is a first for a wedding screw-up.
"Bride and groom say their pastor ditched them at the beach" [Chronicle-Telegram] (Thanks to David!)
(Photo: bastique)
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I just embarrassed myself...
Let me be the first to complain about the price of wedding ministers.
I'm not religious so I hired an Iowa state judge to do my wedding. He filled out our marriage certificate, talked with me on the phone for 5 minutes, and spent 15 minutes at my wedding.
$200 + 20% = $240 :(
It seems like perhaps the minister for hire has had too many close calls and bad experiences, and that's the reason for the zero tolerance policy.
What she did seems a little extreme, because one can see the one glass and see whether a person is intoxicated, but I wonder whether the minister had been in trouble with not being able to properly gauge a couple's intoxication, and thus adopted the policy.
Another shining star in America's heartland... people are generally nice here but man do we have our share of bad apples.
Aww.. the new couples first lawsuit. The beauty and romance of the occasion brings a tear to my eye...
Kresila would walk out on Jesus' wedding then, I guess. I mean, the guy allegedly turned water into wine in accordance with the 11th Commandment: "Thou shalt drink and be merry for it is good." Guy must have been partying everyday.
@BWoodle: We got married in New York City by a Deputy Borough Clerk at the Brooklyn Municipal Building for, I think, less than fifty bucks. Fairy-tale? Not exactly. Romantic? Well, it's a great story to tell the grandkids.
@Homerjay. Good and good for you.: You're living up to your username, Homer. Did you even read the article? Says quite clearly, the couple is *not* planning a lawsuit.
@BWoodle:
I paid more than that to have my ice-maker repaired by a repairman and it didn't take him any longer than that.
While I understand the frustration for what seems like very little work, as a whole, ministers are paid very poorly, $150 - $250 is probably reasonable in most cases I think considering you're taking their personal time for usually a rehearsal dinner and a ceremony.
In an age where the average wedding is supposedly $20k, I don't think 1% of that is unreasonable for a minister to officiate.
@CaptainCynic: I understand, but we had a modest wedding nowhere near the $20k mark. No rehearsal was performed.
It's nice to see there are still people are not sue crazy.
@Homerjay. Good and good for you.: I first read it as well that they were planning on it. I mean, it seems just natural that they would. Put in the scrapbook under "Our First Lawsuit". Cute.
The ceremony took place in my hometown. Gotta love it.
@G.O.B.: Come on!: I thought the 11th amendment was "Thou shalt be ashamed of thy body's nakedness" at least that's what Morel Orel's dad said.
Not a huge fan of zero tolerance, but it seems that this was all made clear when the deal was struck. The rule was broken, so it's reasonable that the minister leave and not return the deposit.
Do I agree with it, no. But it seems perfectly reasonable considering.
@BWoodle: Maybe it's different in other states, but CT just requires registration as some sort of minister, including the online "Universal Life" ministers and such. I know a family friend who has officiated at several people's weddings. That way, the couple actually knows the minister (and vice versa), you can get a more personalized script, and it's cheap or free!
@G.O.B.: Come on!: Recall that the wine served in Catholic communion is Jesus' blood. So he had about a 12% BAC when he died. The legal limit foir driving is .08%.
Good thing they didn't have motor vehicles back then, because Jesus was 149 times over the limit.
@BWoodle:
I'm with ya. We're getting married in 49 days, and hired an officiant out of Toledo, Ohio (thank god, not the same company as in the OP) and she's costing us $265 for what she says will be a 15-minute ceremony. It would have been an even $200 if she wasn't charging us $65 for going over a 50-mile travel limit... by 5 miles. :(
Call this Minister Moron and tell her that she should quit her job!
(440) 324 4047
@BWoodle: P.S. I believe my approach would be termed "making your own minister at home."
BINGO!!! What do I win?
If it's not in the contract, and if the minister or her representative didn't make it clear that drinking would violate the contract, then the minister not only was a dick, but she needs to return the deposit.
wouldnt something like that have to be in the agreement you sign with said minister? If it wasn't in the agreement wouldn't the minister be in breach of contract? If it was, wouldn't the OP be in breach?
If there was no written agreement, wouldn't that be poor decision making on EVERYONE'S part?
@BWoodle: But you hired a judge, not just a minister.
With travel and prep time, the filling out of the certificate, conversation with you, AND the actual performance of the duties you hired him for, I really would not be surprised to be hit with $200. A lawyer's time is pricey, and probably exceptionally so for a judge who often takes an effective salary cut by accepting a judicial posting.
@kraftmayo: Uh, where does it say that it was made clear when the deal was struck?
"Kuhns said that while Kresila never told them not to drink, the rehearsal coordinator who works with Kresila mentioned at the rehearsal dinner the day before the wedding not to drink alcohol and also to drink plenty of water and eat, so no one would get got sick. They didn't meet the reverend until the day of the wedding."
Doesn't sound like "If you drink, the reverend won't marry you" to me.
I'm glad my minister didn't have this rule. I got married with probably 5 glasses of champagne in my bloodstream.
@pecan 3.14159265: Moot point. The minister isn't administering the marriage license, only performing the ceremony. Therefore she technically does not need to be able to properly gauge the couple's intoxication.
In alaska, marrying anybody is free. Getting a commissioner's license is also free. No need to rip people off :) And you dont have to be part of a scam ... erm .. religion to marry someone :) A win win for everybody.
This minister definitely falls into the "holier than thou" category.
Just because it's not written doesn't mean there isn't a contract. If it went done the way the article says, the minister is in breach; oral contracts are exactly as enforcable as their written counterparts--ask Kim Basinger, she had to pay several million on a purely oral contract.
@katstermonster: You should get a gold star. @clickable: No...living up to his name would be...Mmmm...lawsuit.
@katstermonster: My cousin's wife was licensed to perform the ceremony but we thought it would be kind of tacky to write: "BTW, Can you officiate the wedding?" on their invitation. I guess they wouldn't have felt obligated to give a gift...
I had a drinking buddy in college who would have done a great job officiating the wedding. He missed his second calling in life all because of these weird laws...
@BWoodle: call you local marriage license office for a list of retired judges. nyc law requires a minimum fee of $75. the judge we got charged exactly that.
@bombhand: My complaint has more to do with why we need a licensed person to handle this. We filled out the Marriage license at the courthouse, all that was required was the signature of the "licensed" person who performed the ceremony.
As far as judge vs. minister, I'm not going to start following a religion for the wedding discount.
@razremytuxbuddy: I'm not so sure that that is what this was about. If she was anti-alcohol she would have walked out when seeing the first person drinking without asking if the bride had been drinking. Sounds like she's just exceedingly paranoid to me.
@missdona: No kidding. I'm still 9 weeks out from our wedding and already so stressed that I know I'll be starting that day with a mimosa...
Minister-zilla?