I'm not sure if I've ever actually come face to face with a real witch, however last Saturday's wedding in Salem, Massachusetts was surrounded by a very interesting crowd. The village of Salem turns in to a festival of witch's and warlocks for the month of October, creating among other things, massive gridlock. The wedding of Ryan and Erin had to be delayed for a while since so many guests were stuck in traffic.
The environment felt like a movie set with the streets and alleys overflowing with crowds of people dressed in all sorts of creepy attire. Despite the entertainment factor of what was going on, the village itself was dripping with history. Many of the buildings and the entire layout of the town date back to pre-Revolutionary War times. We even did a few photos at the harbour which is home to the three-masted Friendship, a 171 foot replica of the original ship from 1797 at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site. It wasn't until after we were done photographing that not only did we not know we where on a National Historic Site, but we needed a permit to be there. The nice man in his green park ranger outfit equipped with a large side-arm made us aware of that. I'm still waiting for my ticket in the mail. Live and learn I suppose.
Erin and Ryan were awesome though, taking all the "trials" of the day in stride. Their ceremony was at the Salem Old Town Hall. Old Town Hall is the earliest surviving municipal structure in Salem, Massachusetts (dating from 1816-17) and an outstanding Federal Style building. The ceremony was held on the second floor of the building in the Great Hall, which has always been used as a public hall, and contained Town offices until 1837.
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