Get married by Santa
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NEW YORK • In 1995, Mr Frank Pascuzzi's sister-in-law asked if he would dress up as Santa Claus for several hours at her Christmas party.
"She knew I was a Christmas fanatic who always wanted to play Santa," he said. "I didn't look like Santa back then, but I was 6 feet (1.8m) tall, around 250 pounds (113kg) and had a deep laugh. I sprayed my black hair with white paint and rented the suit."
The experience, he added, was both enjoyable and enlightening.
"I didn't realise how wonderful it would make me feel or that I had something special to offer. Suddenly, Christmas meant something again. As an adult, you lose that magic. That night, it came back."
Four years later, he took his son to Macy's to see St Nick.
He had put on about 70kg by then and, embracing the holiday spirit, wore a Santa hat and sprayed his beard white for the occasion.
While waiting in line, he was approached by a floor manager who asked if he would be interested in a job.
"For the next five years during the holiday season, I dressed as Santa and saw 1,000 children a day on the weekends," he said.
From there, he began playing Santa year-round at both private parties and corporate events.
In 2012, Mr Pascuzzi, 63, who lives with his wife Betty in Copiague, New York, legally changed his name to Santa Claus. In 2015, he became an ordained minister through the Universal Life Church so he could officiate at the wedding of a couple he had become friendly with.
"Everyone came up to me afterwards to say how much they loved the ceremony," he said. "I'd found my place."
Now, he does three or four weddings a year, mostly at Christmastime, and charges US$400 (S$540) to officiate in either a full red suit or a black or red tuxedo, he said.
Why do people want to be married by Santa?
They want something different. I symbolise something happy and positive. Having me officiate says they want to start their marriage and their life together in a happy, optimistic way.
What is your officiating process?
I send the couple a questionnaire with 20 or 25 questions. The goal is to give them an opportunity to have real conversations about everything and anything, to spark discoveries and let them see another part of the person they are marrying.
What is the next step?
If they live nearby, I meet them at a diner so I can get a feel for who they are. They tell me their love story and how they met. I ask them to share anything that is funny, quirky and weird that has happened, as I love to weave that, and the serious parts, into the service.
The couple never know what I'm going to say, so it's a surprise to everyone.
How do you end each ceremony?
I ask them: "If you have an argument, how will you figure out who wins?" Then I give them a fake gold marriage coin. One side says "hers" the other says "his". I tell them to flip the coin and whatever it lands on, that is who wins and the other has to respect that.
What I am really trying to do is find a way for them to avoid arguments. Most people don't know how to argue correctly or healthily, or to do it in a way that does not hurt each other.
What is the biggest takeaway you want couples to have?
Love is hard. Staying in love is even harder. I want them to know each other more than "I love you".
I realised during my first marriage, which lasted only 10 years, that we had far less in common than I thought.
To a lot of people, love is just an emotion. An emotion can go away or change. After a while, that emotion becomes a decision. And that decision to stay in love with someone is one you make every day.
Sometimes, it is a decision you make every hour.
NYTIMES
