Nine couples tied the knot in one of the most unique wedding ceremonies in San Diego County this Valentine's Day, vowing to love each other for better or worse, in sickness and in health and "through the clean and dirty."
It was the unusualness of the venue that drew couples like Austin and Nia Wollitz to a Soapy Joe's Car Wash in Imperial Beach for the most special day of their lives.
"We were always kind of thinking the courthouse but, you know, what is even less traditional than the courthouse? Soapy Joe’s Car Wash," Austin Wollitz said. "Why not?"
The Valhalla High School sweethearts have been together for 10 years and had always planned on having a non-traditional wedding ceremony.
When the couple heard about Soapy Joe's offer to host a free-of-charge ceremony -- providing everything from the officiant to a professional photographer -- the now-Wollitzes jumped at the chance.
“We actually go there every day, so its kind of neat that we actually get to get married at our favorite place,” Nia Wollitz said.
Yes, Nia Wollitz likes a clean car. So the family-owned business's offer to provide the newlyweds free washes for the rest of their cars' lives was the finishing coat to the deal.
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In the morning ceremony, the nine couples one-by-one walked down the aisle underneath the car wash's vacuums, which served as an archway. An officiant oversaw the ceremony, guiding couples as each repeated their "I do's."
The Wollitzes said the ceremony was more than they could have asked for and were grateful not only to their loved ones in attendance but to the eight other couples they shared the day with.
The couple planned to wrap up their perfect day with twist on a wedding tradition -- driving off into married bliss with a spin through the car wash.
