HOUSTON, TX – The Krasinski-Duncan nuptials are not the stuff of fairy tale romance or television wedding reality show extravaganza. But they are a viable option for the pragmatic couple in a hurry, on a tight budget and willing to work without a script. Here’s their wedding story.

Nancy Krasinski is a New Yorker (born and raised in Narrowsburg, NY) transplanted to Houston in the ‘70s, where she holds a management position with a well-known Japanese oil company. John Duncan was, at the time of this story, a wholesale coffee salesman and lifelong resident of the Deep South. They met through a mutual friend and, for the better part of a decade, shared a home in Houston’s famous Heights district, a picturesque neighborhood of Los Angeles-style bungalows and 1920s craftsman homes replete with white picket fences. Aging baby boomers, each had been married before, and neither was particularly interested in marrying again. Their decision to marry came in response to crisis and with the blessing of their accountant.

Seemingly out of the blue, Duncan suffered a massive heart attack. Medical tests indicated the need for an immediate quadruple coronary bypass. Although both Duncan and Krasinki had health insurance plans courtesy of their corporate employers, Kransinki’s plan offered more comprehensive coverage for major medical expenses. The cost of surgery would be exorbitant, and the lengthy subsequent convalescence could mean the loss of Duncan’s job and health insurance. The couple’s accountant urged a quick wedding, with Duncan added to Kransinki’s health insurance plan immediately thereafter.

Krasinski recalls, “The doctors wanted to operate yesterday. We needed to hold the wedding as soon as possible.” Because Texas has a mandatory three-day waiting period for completion of the marriage license process, the decision was made to hold the wedding on the bride’s upcoming birthday, one week to the day later.

After seeing the anticipated wedding date on the marriage license application, the city hall clerk informed the couple that their date of choice coincided with a conference for judges and justices. The chance of their finding a justice on that date was, at best, remote. Skeptical at first, a dozen calls to justices within a 100-mile radius confirmed the clerk’s prediction. Plan B was hatched.

Longtime friend and neighbor Simone knew of a progressive, nondenominational organization willing to marry almost anyone on short notice, no questions asked. While thumbing wildly through a phone book, Simone became the de facto wedding planner.

The Unitarian minister who answered that phone call agreed to perform the ceremony at the couple’s home. Krasinski chose that venue because, “It’s the place where all of our most intimate memories are made.” The minister asked if at least two witnesses would be present. Simone would be one, Duncan’s son the other. The guest list didn’t stop there. “Your friends will never forgive you for not letting them be part of your wedding,” Simone insisted. So, two days before the wedding, Duncan called 15 of their astonished close friends and neighbors to invite them to the ceremony being held at 6 p.m. on a work day. All accepted on the spot.

Simone took charge, insisting that there be at least a cake and champagne for a toast. Known to their close friends as particularly gracious hosts, Duncan couldn’t risk that reputation by not at least serving hors d’oeuvres to tired, hungry people coming from work. He prepared them all himself, from fancy cheeses to shrimp cocktail and mini-meatballs. The cake was ordered from a fancy French bakery. Just when they thought everything was set, Simone reminded them that they would need rings. Then she persuaded the bride, who was content to wear something from her closet, to buy a wedding dress from a thrift shop and room decorations from a local craft store. It took about five hours for Krasinski, Duncan and Simone to decorate the ceremony space.

Things went wrong. Assured by the jeweler that the rings couldn’t possibly be sized and inscribed in two days time, the plan was to use cigar bands for the ceremony. The baker assured them that the cake would be done on time and decorated to read, “Krasinski-Duncan Wed 12/2.” But the French-speaking bakery staff misconstrued the decoration wording as pickup instructions. The cake was ready on Wednesday for a Tuesday wedding. The rings were done on time after all, necessitating a last-minute race through downtown Houston’s notorious rush hour traffic.

One of the guests got hopelessly lost on her way to the wedding. Duncan spent an hour directing her on the phone. Twice she passed the house. As she was closing in for the third time, the other guests ran into the street to flag her down.

The five-minute civil service turned into a 20-minute wedding ceremony with unity candle lighting. Bride and groom were pleasantly surprised by that part of the ceremony; “Candles played a large role in creating our ceremony space atmosphere. We must have had 50 of them burning, so this seemed like an extension of that theme.”

The low-key ceremony concluded with the traditional pronouncement, and bride and groom were shocked when the guests burst into spontaneous applause and raucous cheers. Simone turned to Duncan and Krasinski and said, “I told you this would be important to them.”

Duncan’s heart surgery, held a week later, was successful and his recovery rapid. Krasinski boasted that, ring purchase aside, total wedding cost was less than $250. Duncan’s adult son videotaped both the ceremony and reception (which lasted about two hours). And Simone took hundreds of photos, all since misplaced. The marriage continues to thrive.