Kirk stood very straight and smiled weakly at Rory after Christopher handed her off to Logan.  Rory smiled back and then whispered, "Kirk?  Are you alright?  You don't look so good."

He forced a smile and said quietly, "Yeah, fine, all fine." Kirk looked away from Rory and up at the crowd seated.  He stood up straight, but appeared to be wavering.  He said loudly, "Dearly beloved, we are all gathered here today to witness the union... the union... between... Rory... and Lo..."

Logan quickly jumped forward as Kirk's eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped forward.  Both men fell to the wood floor under the arbor.  Logan managed to hold Kirk's head from slamming into the floor.  He somehow had rolled with Kirk's limp body to protect him.  The way they landed had them positioned in front of the fire so that they looked like cuddled up like lovers.  Kirk's head was nestled in the crook of Logan's arm as Logan lay on his back. Logan had an arm around Kirk's shoulders and was holding him to his chest.

Jackson rushed forward with his camera to take a picture of the scene.  At Emily's glare, he said, "What?  I was told to document the whole wedding.  This seemed like an unplanned event.  I thought I should capture it."

"Unplanned?  Of course, the officiant dressed in a VFW uniform passing out and falling with the groom was unplanned!"  Emily snapped.  "Does this really seem like a moment we want to remember?"

"Uh...sorry to interrupt, but could I get a hand here?"  Logan said from under Kirk on the floor.

Finn, Jackson, Luke, and Christopher came forward to sit up Kirk.  Kirk was conscious, but a little dazed.  He looked around and said, "Oh man, did I pass out?"

"Yeah, Kirk, you did,"  Rory said.  "How are you feeling?"

"I feel ok now.  The fire was so hot.  You took so long to get down here.  I didn't want to abandon my post to cool down or get a drink.  I guess I had too much coffee while I was helping Gypsy shuttle people around,"  Kirk said attempting to stand.

"Maybe you shouldn't get up yet, Mate," Finn said as Kirk's legs didn't appear to want to cooperate.

Voices from the audience began offering advice.  Babette yelled, "Get him some water!"

"A cool rag on the forehead helps my dancers," Patty offered.

"He's fine!  Let's get on with it," Gypsy said.

"There should be paramedics here on call in the event of an emergency such as this.  I think we may need to revisit the town codes for functions and their required personnel," Taylor mused as he pulled out a small notebook to record his thoughts.

"There's a blizzard outside, Taylor!  Codes don't apply right now,"  Babette screeched. 

"Codes always apply.  They are for the safety and organization of the town.  Now, take this incident for example, this is a prime example of the importance..." Taylor began.

"Excuse me?"  Finn tried to say over the crowd.  "Excuse me!"  he repeated much louder and drawing attention this time.  "I think our military man here is fine and ready to proceed."

Everyone settled back into their seats as Kirk regained his composure and officiated the ceremony.  Kirk began where he left off after the first attempt.  "Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to witness the union of Rory Gilmore and Logan Huntzberger.  I have been bestowed the honor of being the one to unite them, most likely by default and as a last resort.  But whatever the reason they chose me to perform this important, life changing task, I am honored.  Someday, I hope to officiate my own wedding, so I am considering this good practice.  I want it to be perfect when I marry my girlfriend, Lulu.  I have to say, I already have noted a few things I would change.  First of all, winter is not a good time to get married.  The weather is just too unpredictable.  I mean, look at this mess.  This wedding almost didn't happen!"  Kirk laughed to himself and said, "Rory and Logan, you sure are lucky I am around."  He gave them a smile while nodding his head.  Rory and Logan just stared at him wondering what would come out of his mouth next.  Kirk kept going, "Secondly, for health reasons and safety, I would never recommend having nuptials in front of a raging fire.  This is just sick.  Look at us!  We are all sweating.  The bride is supposed to have a glow, but this is crazy.  She is looking like she just finished training for a marathon!  So far, I don't smell anything, but this place is going to smell like a gym soon if we stay here."

"Young man!  Do you think you can perform an actual ceremony here and restrain yourself from all the unnecessary commentary?"  Richard stood up and bellowed.

Insulted, Kirk puffed out his chest and continued the ceremony with no further personal anecdotes. 

Nearing the end of the ceremony, Kirk said, "Well, if no one has objections-- hey, can I object?  Does anyone know?"

Lane leaned in and whispered, "Kirk!  Why would you want to object?"

"Oh, I don't!  I was just wondering if I had the option.  I know I am kind of running the show, but I was also invited as a guest.  Guests all have the option to object, so I was just wondering..."  Kirk's voice trailed off as Luke loudly cleared his throat and glared at him.  Kirk quickly finished up, "By the power vested in me by the Universal Life Church Online Program, I now pronounce you husband and wife.  Logan, you may kiss your bride."  Softly to Logan, he said, "Keep it  classy, man.  I try to run respectful weddings."  Then to the crowd, he straightened up and saluted.  He said, "God bless America!"

Logan tipped Rory back in a classic movie style kiss while Kirk looked on disapprovingly. The guests blew bubbles at them out of tiny white containers shaped like doves.  Lorelai had dug them out of the attic storage on a whim the night before.  The bubbles looked magical floating through the room and reflecting the light from the twinkle lights, candles, and fireplace.

Guests began to wander into the dining room where Sookie and Luke had set up a huge buffet.  Since there were no servers, buffet style seemed to make the most sense.

Emily, Francine. and Shira remained seated in their chairs.  They stared at the now empty arbor and shook their heads while trying to grasp what they had just witnessed.

"All of our planning for a sophisticated, elegant wedding dissolved and we were left with that?  What was wrong with that man?" Emily asked.

"I'm not sure,"  Francine said slowly.  "This town is very strange.  Hopefully the farmer and the cook got some good pictures.  Perhaps if we do not use sound when we watch the video it will be tolerable."

"Well, we wanted to see our granddaughter get married.  We did," Emily said.

"Yes and none of our friends were here.  We could leave out some details when asked and just say it was a simple ceremony at a country inn during a snow storm.  Yes, that sounds nice and romantic,"  Francine said.

"I don't think there would ever be a need to mention the VFW uniform or fainting or a Lulu, whoever that it is," Shira said.

"We will just need to go through the photos carefully,"  Emily agreed.

"Emily? Ladies?  Will you be joining us in the dining room?"  Richard asked as he came to check on Emily.

"Coming, Richard.  We were just reflecting on our granddaughter getting married,"  Emily said.

"Yes, lovely ceremony, wasn't it?"  Richard said as he wandered back to the dining room leaving all three women staring after him with wide eyes.

"Ah, does the bride have a kiss for me?" Finn asked as he hugged Rory.  "How does it feel to be married?"

"Finn, we have been married for a couple months now,"  Rory said laughing as she pecked Finn on the cheek.

"Yes, but not in the eyes of society.  Today you became a society wife.  Before now, you were Logan's dirty secret wife," Finn explained.

"Ooh, you were a dirty little secret!  Hmmm, guess I am too!" Steph said laughing.

"I'll make an honest society wife of you soon enough," Colin said wrapping an arm around her.

"Lots of secrets around this group," Lane said smiling slyly at Rory.

Before anyone could question Lane on her secrets, the room silenced as the lights flickered.  They could hear the howling wind outside and see the snow still falling through the dining room windows.

"I checked with my sources earlier this afternoon.  They said the storm should start to wind down this evening.  Looks like it is giving us a last punch,"  Mitchum said.

"Babs, we should eat quick and get back home," Maury said.

"Yeah Maury, I don't want the babies alone in the dark.  The lights keep flickering like that and we will lose power,"  Babette agreed.

As if the wind was responding, the group hear a loud gust and the room was in darkness aside from the candles and fire glow.  As they all instinctively gasped, the lights flickered back on.

"Come on, Kirk," Gypsy said loading a plate and carrying it with her.  "We need to start the truck and do an initial plow before we start taking people home."

"Will I get paid extra for skipping a meal?  Dinner was in the agreement,"  Kirk whined.

Gypsy threw a roll at him, "Eat on the go."

The townspeople began organizing themselves into groups to be shuttled home.  Sookie was running around with to-go containers encouraging everyone to take some food home.  She didn't want to leave Luke with a huge mess to clean up after she left.  Rory, Logan, and their friends sat in chairs and ate their dinner near the door to say goodbye and thank people for coming on their way out.

Taylor was in the last group to leave.  He hugged Rory and shook Logan's hand.  He said, "Well, I think all the townspeople have been safely delivered home.  As councilman, it is my responsibility to account for the well being of the people of this town.   This situation and your wedding was highly unorthodox, but I suppose that was out of your control.  Unfortunately, it will be up to the town council to decide if there will be any fines for breaking town ordinances during this event.  I suggest you both attend the next town meeting.  Decisions will be made by then.  And... any outstanding fines could result in delays in permits for your house, you know."

Logan faked a serious look and said, "Absolutely, Taylor, we will be there.  I'll bring my checkbook."

"Excellent.  A responsible man you are, Logan.  You will be a fine addition to our town,"  Taylor said pleased.  He pulled on his fur lined parka and made his way to Gypsy's truck.

"What is that man's problem?" Finn asked shaking his head after Taylor left.

"Taylor is just Taylor,"  Rory said laughing. "Micro-managing and annoying are his specialties."

"I, for one, am glad he's gone! He was watching me at the bar like it was prohibition and I was a bootlegger!" Robert said.  "Now can we really celebrate the newlyweds?"

Colin grabbed a bottle of champagne and began to uncork it.  Just as the cork  made its trademark "POP!", the room went dark.  The lights did not flicker back on this time.