After a marriage proposal via Facebook five days beforehand, two UF sophomores were married (just for fun) Friday in a ceremony on campus.
The hasty wedding came as no surprise to some of the near 25 guests who attended, mainly because it was a fraud.
The couple, members of a UF improv group, Theatre Strike Force, planned the ceremony on a whim following a playful suggestion by the bride, Kamay Lafalaise.
After asking Rudy Mendoza to marry her by leaving a post on his Facebook wall, Mendoza responded by painting "Marry me, Kamay!" on the 34th Street wall.
"Rudy took it to Mars and went for it," Lafalaise said.
Mendoza said they planned the event for Friday afternoon in the Baughman Center, which offers free public access throughout the day.
He said the wedding cost about $20, which went toward the painted proposal.
The minister and pianist performed their services for free, Mendoza said.
As notes of Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D Major" drifted over the guests, some attendees in dressy attire were confused.
Others jumped on board without question.
Barry Naylor, a former UF student and TSF member, drove up from Tampa.
As the "Bridal Chorus" sounded, Lafalaise, wearing her roommate's white knee-length dress, took measured steps toward the altar.
There were only a few hiccups, some planned, some improvised: a tardy minister, a forgotten ring, a few objections and two phone calls during the ceremony.
As the wedding party gathered outside for pictures following the ceremony, UF sophomore Lauren Levy stopped to watch them on a nearby bridge. Upon discovering the wedding was a sham, Levy laughed.
"I was telling her congratulations," she said.
The elaborate gag was officiated by an ordained minister.
Warren Moore, a UF computer engineering senior, said he tutors Mendoza for a class, and becoming his minister was a natural transition. Moore has been ordained for a few years, but he has never officiated a ceremony before.
"There's no better practice for performing a wedding than at a fake wedding," he said.
