A wedding can be like any day in June: joyfully bright or worthy of tornado sirens. When we asked readers to share memories of their more, um, memorable wedding moments, responses literally ran from the sacred to the profane. Tales of flying harps collided with smuggled minnows. There were wiseacre groomsmen, fires and Beatles imitators. Several told somber stories about drinking too much. (Can we retire the tradition of stealing the bride? Seems as if no good ever comes of it.) Many noted how many years they've been married, most having survived decades despite some inauspicious beginnings. Perhaps love really does conquer all.

Sliv Carlson, Woodland

"One of [Bill's] fraternity brothers kindly offered to polish his shoes for him 'in order to allow him a little more preparation time.' Everything at the ceremony was going smoothly and we knelt in front of the minister for the blessing, but both finally noticed laughter coming from the guests. When the ceremony was completed, we turned to face a congregation of very happy friends and relatives. We learned that Bill's helpful groomsman had written, in white shoe polish on the soles of his shoes, HELP."

Shirley Melcher, Norwood Young America

Shirley and Meldon Melcher had spent the day before their wedding decorating the Paradise Ballroom in Waconia for their reception. But that evening, "a relative called to say that the Paradise Ballroom was burning. At first we thought it was a joke, but as we drove closer to Waconia we could see the glow in the sky. We saw the tables and chairs still lined up in neat rows, but everything else was destroyed." So they started over. After the wedding ceremony, the reception was moved to the Zion Lutheran Church gymnasium in Cologne, "with paper plates and Christmas napkins. The wedding cake made by Meldon's mother was set up. Someone provided a new guest book, but to this day I'm not sure where it came from. The dance was moved to the Plato Hall in Plato, Minn., but the band wouldn't come there, so at the last minute, the Riverside Dutchmen Band came and provided wonderful music. Local firemen from Plato served as bartenders for the evening. Everyone had a good time."

Nancy Westerberg, Merrifield, Minn.

"My husband and I were planning a second marriage for each of us and between us we had five children between the ages of 6 and 17. Both of us were frazzled with the effort of organizing five kids, but everything went like clockwork until following the ceremony when we stepped outside the church -- a blended family at last -- and each went to our own cars with our respective children in tow."

Jane Barton, Brooklyn Center

"I'm from Minneapolis and my husband is from West Texas, with a thick drawl. You might say he is a 'redneck' and I'm the city gal." The wedding was to be outside, followed by a BBQ reception in a pavilion. "Well, it rained and the wedding was rushed inside. There was no aisle to walk down, so we had to make our way through the tables. When the minister pronounced us 'man and wife,' each of his redneck friends popped the top of a beer can!"

Lesley Alain, Lonsdale, Minn.

The banquet coordinator for the hotel reception was very hesitant to say who had rented the other ballroom. "So when the chef broke the news to us that the other party was about 450 'swingers' [couple swappers] in from all across the United States, you could only imagine our surprise! The main bar was between the two ballrooms, so needless to say our 'parties' had to sometimes intermingle. A few women asked if they could kiss the bride, so I offered them my cheek, and they then proceeded to say, 'Oh, honey, that's not what I meant!' Just funny that we were celebrating two completely opposite occasions."

Suzanne Oxley, Chanhassen

Storms were predicted for the outdoor wedding at Noerenberg Gardens on Lake Minnetonka, and "I was standing at the front of the tent with my mother next to me for a photo when all of a sudden a 50- to 60-mile-an-hour wind gust swept into the tent, picked up the full-size harp and sent it flying in my direction. It hit above my left eye, bounced off my shoulder, and again on my elbow, before crashing to the ground. I had a gash on my head that soon sent blood running down my cheek. The bleeding stopped, and an hour later when the rain had slowed, the wedding started. At 4 p.m., I went to Urgent Care at Park Nicollet and had the gash on my head glued shut!"

Melissa Schaffer, Burnsville

"My husband, Darin, and I were married on Dec. 12, 2008, at sunset on a beach in Florida. The only job my parents had was to get me to the wedding. Their room was one floor below our room in the hotel. I called them and they said they were on their way up to get me. No one came. I called again and they said they were 'waiting for an elevator.' No one came. I called them again they said they were 'in the hallway.' I looked out the door and did not see them. In the meantime, my friends at the wedding site have called many times asking where I was. When they finally showed up, I was just fuming mad and told them the sun was not going to wait for us. Later that evening, I had to ask my mom, why were they late? And she says with the best poker face, 'We were watching Oprah!' (The rerun episode of Tom Cruise jumping on the couch.) I was late to my own wedding because my parents were watching Oprah!"

Brenda Spencer, Rosemount

"We are lifelong Beatle fans and were going to Las Vegas to see Paul McCartney in concert on April 19th. We had talked about getting married and wanted to do something unique. I thought, why not have a Beatles themed wedding while there in Vegas? Everything fell into place perfectly. We had the men in the bridal party all in Sgt. Pepper costumes. The women in the bridal party were in brightly colored dresses. The guests were in '60s clothes or dressed as characters from Beatles songs." (It's on Youtube at www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwvKUkVGDzo)

Jeff Van Hyfte, Bloomington

"Two weeks before our wedding, my wife's mom, Pat, passed away, so there was a bit of a somber feeling over us -- definitely not how Pat would have wanted us to remember our wedding day. After dinner, we headed to one of her favorite lakes to finish taking pictures" on the dock. "There was no warning, no creaking, just the quick, loud crash of the dock breaking below us, and we were all in the water. Dresses tore, tuxes split, shoes were lost in the muck, cell phones shorted out, everyone was drenched. After the initial shock wore off, we all laughed loud and made the most of the rest of the night! We know in our hearts it was Pat's way of giving us a memorable, fun story to remember our wedding day. We can truly say, 'We took the plunge!'"

Kathy Palm, Elk River

"I had floating candle bowls to try to bring some elegance to the tables at the reception. When we arrived from the church, we realized my husband's fishing buddies added minnows to all the floating candle bowls! By the end of the night, people were swallowing them and kids were running around with them."

Kim Ode • 612-673-7185