Love is many things to different people. It has inspired countless tales, Shakespearean plays and many movies. For one Gilroy couple, love holds a truly unique and aromatic meaning: garlic. And in Gilroy, love and garlic go hand-in-hand. As the Gilroy Garlic Festival began to wind down Sunday afternoon, a large crowd gathered at the main stage to witness Tom and Stacy Davenport renew their wedding vows.
Delicate strings of violins hummed sweetly as Stacy Davenport, wearing a crown of purple flowers and garlic cloves, began walking down a garlic-lined aisle to her husband and family waiting on stage.
Stacy and Tom Davenport grew up in Gilroy but didn’t cross paths until later in their lives as adults. Unbeknownst to them, both of their mothers were good friends and roommates before Stacy and Tom were born.
Eventually, the Davenports married on Garlic Festival weekend in 1996. So when they heard about the Gilroy Dream Wedding contest sponsored by the Gilroy Garlic Festival, it seemed appropriate that they enter for the chance to renew their vows in a garlic-themed wedding on their anniversary weekend.
Through a social media contest, the couple became finalists and appeared on a Newlywed Game-style competition against other couples on KRTY Hot Country 95.3. They won the game and the Garlic Dream Wedding. In addition to the garlic-themed ceremony, they also won a Central Coast honeymoon, a “Romance Tour” at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, some enticing goodies and free entrance to the festival for themselves and 20 friends and family members.
“We can’t think of a better way to celebrate a lifetime of loving garlic together than by sharing this day with family and loved ones,” Stacy Davenport said.
With Mr. Garlic officiating the renewal of the vows Sunday and 2015 Garlic Festival Queen Bridget Brown and her court in attendance, the wedding audience was made up of festival-goers as well as friends and family of the bride and groom. Gilroy resident Marissa Haro said she didn’t know the festival hosted public wedding ceremonies but was happy to be part of the festivities.
“Watching the short video they presented in the beginning of the wedding, about the couple, was so sweet and personal, because you were able to get to know these people who were virtually strangers to you,” Haro said.
As for the possibility the wedding contest will become an annual Garlic Festival event, Haro thought it was a great way to showcase the importance of the festival.
“I would totally come to see another wedding next year if that was something the festival was thinking of doing,” she said. “The festival is a weekend-long celebration of life and a time to spend with those you care about most. What says that more than a wedding?”
The Davenports agree. With their vows renewed and garlic rings exchanged, the couple toasted to love and handed out slices of cake—not garlic flavored—to attendees after the wedding ceremony. With 19 years of marriage under their belt, they undoubtedly know that love is quite similar to garlic—both are the spice of life.
