Attire for wedding at dump expensive

BETHEL – The bride will be wearing a $7,000 wedding dress. The groom, a $1,000 tuxedo.

And the venue worthy of such fancy attire? The local dump.

Rockie Graham and David Hart plan to tie the knot on Labor Day at the Bethel Transfer Station, where the two lovebirds met and both work.

The story has garnered so much national interest that the TV show Inside Edition outfitted the couple with designer wedding clothes in exchange for exclusive rights to the story.

The show flew the couple to New York City Thursday for a fitting, which was also taped.

Rockie said her wedding dress is “gorgeous.”

It was made a little shorter than normal, taking into account where the wedding is taking place.

The couple were also driven to Central Park in a limo so they could be filmed while walking, talking and laughing.

Both are thoroughly enjoying the stir they are creating. The dump wedding was Dave’s idea and he’s thrilled at all the attention, as well as the trip to the Big Apple.

“We were king and queen for a day, all expenses paid,” Hart said.

However, they won’t be transported in a bucket loader at the wedding as planned.

“Between OSHA [Occupational Safety and Health Administration] and the Department of Labor, they made it very clear” that bucket loaders weren’t meant to transport people, Rockie said.

The couple isn’t accepting gifts. Instead, they are encouraging donations of recyclable bottles at the transfer station, which have so far netted $1,500 for a honeymoon trip, also counting odd jobs.

Other boons have also come their way. Steve White, owner of the Sunday River Inn on the Access Road in Newry, is donating use of a banquet room for the reception.