KALAMAZOO (WKZO-AM) -- It was a good day to get married again and a great day to be a Bronco.
After all, how many couples can say their most recent marriage is in the Guinness Book of World Records?
In perfect conditions under clear blue Michigan skies and with considerable attention to detail, Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell did the honors as 1,201 couples officially renewed their vows on the Great Lawn on Prospect Hill in front of the arch that used to be North Hall on the WMU campus.
Most of the brides wore white. Some were wearing brown and gold.
There was a wide variety of outfits, most wearing the kind you would expect to see in a crowd headed for a football game, but a few managed white chiffon and silk.
Others attached veils to the back of their baseball caps and brought bouquets.
Congressional Candidate Lorence Wenke's wife Nancy said it was the first time she had a real marriage ceremony with a band, cake, champagne and a chance to wear a white dress. She said when they were younger, their marriage was not endorsed by their parents and their original marriage ceremony was not as grand.
Many of the couples had met as students at Western Michigan University. They got to see videos of others who had had that same experience in a video projected on a huge screen. It was welcome relief as they waited for other participants to work their way up Prospect Hill.
The alreadyweds formed a line at one point that stretched for a couple of blocks from the edge of the lawn, back across the front of Heritage Hall, across the parking lot, down the driveway and then back down Oakland Drive all the way to Oakland Gym.
For the sake of the Guinness observer, each couple had to present their original marriage certificate, and each had to verbally participate in an scripted series of pledges as they followed Mayor Hopewell through the ceremony.
He then pronounced them all man and wife -- again.
University spokesperson Cheryl Roland said the North Hall Arch and Heritage Hall are becoming a favorite spot for weddings and receptions and they expect getting married at the location will become more popular as word gets out.
When it was discovered that several dozen couples were too far away because of the size of the crowd to clearly hear the ceremony, they were brought forward and Mayor Hopewell repeated the vows once again as they huddled around him.
Then and only then was the final number of 1,201 certified and announced as the new world record. There may have been hundreds more who forgot to bring their license or left their assigned areas that were not in the final record count, but still were welcomed to participate.
They broke the old record of 1,087 couples set by Miami University in Ohio in 2009.
It would not be the only victory over a Mid-American Conference school on Saturday, as the football team beat the Northern Illinois in the school's 93rd annual homecoming game and are now 6-0 on the season.