A wedding like no other unfolded at Hobart City Hall over the weekend, with ABC Hobart breakfast radio host Ryk Goddard and partner Mylinda Purtell tying the knot in front of 400 people as the grand finale of this year’s Beaker Street festival.
The event, titled ‘The Second Act: The Wedding’, marked the festival’s 10th anniversary.
Goddard said the idea started as a joke after the couple struggled to find a venue for their originally planned 80-person wedding.
“We were complaining about that to Margo [Adler] who runs Beaker Street Festival and she jokingly said, ‘have it in my festival’,” he told Pulse.
Adler came back with a serious offer.
“She came back to us and said, ‘look, I’ve actually spoken to the staff and they’re pretty keen’,” Goddard said.
His now-wife sealed the decision.
“She said, ‘let’s do it because I want to be that person when we’re in our old people’s home who looks back and said, yes, we did that,” Goddard said.
The couple checked with their children before committing and Goddard said they would not have gone ahead without their blessing.
Of the 400 guests, around 150 were personal invitees, about 30 were artists and crew and the rest came through Beaker Street.
Rather than spending their budget on table and chair hire, the couple poured it into live art and performance, including artist Alex Moss with a live video display and band Stevie and the Bunsen Burners who composed a special processional entrance.
Goddard said the scale did not come at the cost of intimacy.
“Even though it was really big, it still was intimate and warm,” he said.
“In no way was it a performance. It was our marriage ritual, just amplified.”
Adler said the event fitted the festival’s theme perfectly.
“It’s about taking stock of who we are, what we value and how we stay connected to each other in a world increasingly designed to pull us apart,” she said.
“It felt fitting for Beaker Street Festival’s 10th anniversary to celebrate in style, where audiences can be part of a Main Stage event marrying neuroscience and nuptials, then let loose on the dance floor with the happy couple.”
