October 2009 - Take a 1942 American LaFrance fire engine, add a chapel, an organ, stained-glass windows and an altar, and what you get is a complete rolling wedding chapel.

Even though he has a brick-and-mortar church building where he has been performing weddings for seven years, ordained minister Darrell Best in Shelbyville, Ill., uses his LaFrance fire truck for wedding events for those who want something a tad unusual.

Because the fire truck is old, Best wanted to restore it, but he didn't have the time or skills to do anything other than drive it to a destination where he would perform a wedding in the rear of the vehicle. He stayed within 50 miles of home, as he was reluctant to drive it too far because of its age.

Best's son wrote to the producers of the cable TV show "Trick My Truck" about their unique vehicle. The show's premise is to take a working truck and customize it, but owners usually don't have a clue what they'll get in the end.

New and improved
After picking up the vehicle, the "Trick My Truck" crew removed much of the fire truck's rear area, which originally had seats. The crew used aluminum square tubing and sheet aluminum to construct a small chapel that can snugly fit about five standing people.

Within the chapel are five stained-glass windows, a pipe organ, an altar, an audio/video system to record the happy event and two pews running its length. The crew also added a new engine and transmission, and a new dashboard. They waterproofed the driver's area, which is open to the weather.

Aluminum sheet was cut into 5-in.-wide strips and overlapped for the sides of the chapel to make it look like a lapped wood construction that can be found on many traditional church buildings. After the chapel was constructed, the entire truck was painted white. Gold detailing and roses were painted along the bottom.

Two keyboard synthesizers were double-stacked and mounted in a compressed wood frame. On top of the synthesizers, another frame was added that had various sizes of plastic pipe mounted into it to make everything look like a traditional pipe organ after it was assembled. Then, the pipes were painted gold, and the surrounding frame was painted to look like grained wood. This was mounted behind the driver's area. The driver can turn 180 degrees and start playing "Here Comes the Bride." The pews were also fabricated from sheet aluminum with the ends capped in wood.

"This unique wedding chapel has brought me business," says Best. "It gives me the opportunity now to travel."

Runaway bride--and groom
Best mentions that he wanted to give people without a church a chance for a unique service. And for $2 per mile, plus a $200 fee, he'll drive the chapel anywhere.

The truck suits "the kind of people who don't want a traditional wedding," he remarks.

Recently, Best was an attraction for 10 days at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield where he performed weddings and "gave out a lot of business cards."

So what's Best's rolling wedding chapel called? Best Man. of course.

Click here to see the last episode "Trick My Truck" where the wedding chapel is created. FFJ