Photo courtesy of Bill Stallings.
i do with a view
Vulcan Park has hosted I Do With A View on Valentine’s Day since 2007, and the park prides itself on a hassle-free but beautiful wedding ceremony for each participant.
As part of their first date, Bill Stallings took his now-wife Aneesa to Vulcan Park to see the city. That beginning came full circle when they decided to get married at Vulcan in February 2014.
The Stallings are among many couples that have chosen to tie the knot at I Do With A View, a Valentine’s Day tradition at Vulcan Park since 2007. For a flat rate, a small number of couples can have their wedding ceremony and reception at the park with the skyline of Birmingham in the background. The fee includes the officiant, music, flowers, wedding cake, champagne and photography.
“Vulcan Park and Museum is known for being a romantic spot in the city — from a couple’s first date, first kiss, to marriage proposals,” said Morgan Berney, Vulcan’s director of public relations and marketing. “Instead of having a courthouse wedding, we are able to offer the same hassle-free experience within a beautiful setting as well as allow the couples the chance to have their closest family and friends, including Vulcan, present.”
For Bill and Aneesa, getting married at Vulcan made sense because of its simplicity. Both had busy careers, Bill at Compass Bank in Homewood and Aneesa at Wells Fargo in Mountain Brook, and they were trying to move into their new house and plan a honeymoon. Instead of their original plan of eloping, participating in I Do With A View allowed the Stallings’ family to be involved.
“It was a really good compromise where our family could be there but I didn’t have to plan anything, I didn’t have to do the wedding stuff,” Aneesa said. “We just have so much more to focus on. We were trying to get our lives established for after the wedding.”
The Stallings met while they both worked at Regions Bank. After talking a few times, Bill suggested they both take their dogs to a local dog park.
“And then it rained for like two weeks straight,” Aneesa said.
The dog park plan was never revived, but Aneesa eventually invited Bill to go with her to a show downtown.
“How spontaneous are you?” she recalls asking.
“I’ll pick you up in an hour,” he responded.
The show was followed by the visit to Vulcan and a year of dating later, Bill proposed while parasailing in the Gulf of Mexico.
“I was determined not to have to get down on one knee, so I thought being in the air was my best option for avoiding that situation,” Bill said.
Once the couple decided to get married at I Do With A View, Aneesa said her only concern was that their ceremony wouldn’t feel personal. As one of several couples getting married in a single day — and the second to last couple, at that — they wondered if they would be sacrificing individuality for ease of planning.
“I was kind of afraid for it almost to be like an assembly line, but it wasn’t,” Aneesa said.
That wasn’t the case. The vendors called them to discuss small personalizations in the flowers, cake and music, and Aneesa said her friends and family were all impressed by their photos. Beyond those details, the Stallings left everything in the hands of the Vulcan staff.
“It was very, very smooth. It was the least stressful wedding planning thing I think we ever could have imagined,” Aneesa said.
“It was really easy for me. I just showed up, walked up, said ‘I do,’ went and ate cake and went to dinner,” Bill agreed.
Despite one wedding being held each hour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Stallings said none of the park staff seemed tired or like they were going through the motions. There was also little evidence that the other couples were there at all.
Bill said he only briefly saw the bride of the next ceremony as she arrived. Aneesa arrived slightly early and encountered the previous wedding’s reception, but staff members were nearby to guide her to her prep room. If she had arrived at her scheduled time, Aneesa said, she would have never seen them.
“It was all very smooth,” she said.
I Do With A View is not the wedding ceremony for every couple, but Aneesa said she had never been interested in party planning or the small details of dresses, flowers and catering. But for the Stallings, it was the perfect fit.
There were only two drawbacks. One: their two dogs weren’t allowed at the ceremony.
“I tried to forge some seeing-eye dog stuff and things like that, but they didn’t go for it,” Bill joked.
And two: “The hill. It’s a really long walk up there,” Aneesa said.
I Do With A View
- WHERE: Vulcan Park and Museum, 1701 Valley View Drive, Homewood
- WHEN: Feb. 14, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- WEB: visitvulcan.com