Although I know the assignment was intended to be a comparison of wedding announcements from two different sources, this proved to be challenging for me, as neither the Minneapolis Star Tribune nor the St. Paul Pioneer Press post these announcements online, and I wanted to compare wedding announcements at my local and state level.  Instead, I found a related article from the Stillwater Gazette, my hometown newspaper, that I thought could prove to be an interesting study to tie together with an analysis of wedding announcements.

When I searched “wedding announcements” on the Stillwater Gazette website, I stumbled upon an article from July entitled, “Weddings on a stick: County Fair offers free weddings, vow renewals.” The Washington County Fair Board Director John Rheinberger boasts, “We are the only county in the United States to offer fair-sponsored free weddings and vow renewals every day of our fair to every qualified person without any pre-registration or contest involved, and in a very open setting on the fairgrounds so that all other fairgoers can witness the ceremonies.” The fact that Washington County is the only county in the nation to offer this “service” speaks to its small-town vibe, as only in such a town would people be interested in this event, with chances actually being good that one may know someone who is getting married or renewing vows.

The article quotes Judge Greg Galler, who performs the ceremonies: “I love the demographics of the fair. It is a good gathering spot and the ceremonies are something everyone can enjoy whether they participate or observe.” His characterization speaks to the public of those who live in Washington County, as within this area, the Washington County Fair is obviously a community-gathering place. He also characterizes the public as one that enjoys participating in such events, which obviously indicates some value placed on a sense of kinship and community. This story, albeit rather corny, indicates a great deal about the public of Washington County residents and Stillwater Gazette readers.

Furthermore, the actual engagement announcements in the Stillwater Gazette provide similar information about the public that is Stillwater residents. There are very few engagement announcements featured in the paper, which speaks to the fact that it is for a small town audience in which engagements are likely infrequent. In fact, there was a nearly two-month gap between the two most recent announcements featured on the site. The announcements are quite standard, with information including the names of the parents of the couple, where they attended high school, where they attended college, current place of residence, and occupation. All of the announcements I looked at included a white, heterosexual couple. The fact that no gay couples were featured is indicative of the “traditional” values of the small town, as well as of Minnesota, which does not yet permit gay marriage. The fact that these couples are all white and have attended college indicates a readership that is generally white, middle-class, and suburban families.

http://stillwatergazette.com/2012/07/20/weddings-on-a-stick-county-fair-offers-free-weddings-vow-renewals/

http://stillwatergazette.com/2012/09/14/myrvold-gleason/