With war calling, couple wed on run Paris man called for overseas Guard duty

PARIS – Love couldn’t wait when Timothy McAlister got the call for war.

So he and Renee Taylor were married Saturday before he left Monday for an overseas assignment with his Maine Air National Guard squadron.

Rather than a large spring wedding in a church, the couple opted for a small autumn ceremony in a banquet room at the Market Square Restaurant in Paris.

“I’m brokenhearted. He’s going to leave soon,” Renee said. “Getting married has helped me keep my mind off it a lot.”

McAlister, 24, said he met Taylor, 23, four years ago when they were working at Papa Gino’s in Auburn. Even before their first date, he told his mother that he was going to marry Taylor.

That part came true. But the timing was accelerated because of America’s war on terrorism in response to the Sept. 11 attacks.

McAlister is a member of the 243rd Engineer and Installation squadron of the Air National Guard unit in South Portland. So when he was notified late last week to report to duty, he and his fiancee decided to get married now rather than wait.

The groom’s mother, Sharon McAlister of Minot, said she called around and the only place available was a small banquet room at the Market Square Restaurant. She took it, and at 7 p.m. Saturday the couple wed in front of the open fireplace and about 25 people.

“Things worked out,” Sharon McAlister said. “Usually it takes at least two weeks to get a wedding cake. I talked to Wal-Mart and told them the circumstances and they did a cake in two days.

“Even the judge in Kennebec waived the three-day wait for a wedding license.”

For now, McAlister doesn’t even know where he’s being assigned to work on communication systems. He said he would learn his destination on the flight there.

Taylor said the couple still plans a church ceremony upon his return.