Marriage is final frontier at AVL 'Star Trek' wedding

"You may now kiss and mind meld," Howard Hanger declared to the bride and groom before they placed their hands on each other's temples — merging their thoughts, and lives, together forever.

Although not traditional, what else should be expected from a minister wearing pointed Vulcan ears in a ceremony where Corinthians was read by Batman?

Not much was ordinary at the wedding of Richard Heim and Diane Stanton on May 23 at Jubilee! And the couple wouldn't have had it any other way.

"We did not want it to be a traditional, stuffy, rigid wedding," Heim said. "We wanted it to be fun and where people enjoyed themselves and I think we succeeded."

The couple met through an online dating service and on their first date Heim knew Stanton was his complement when she forced him to go contra dancing and he loved it, creating a weekly tradition the couple still shares.

"She pulls those things out of me. I'm the Vulcan, she's the Betazoid," he said of his introversion and her outgoing nature.

The couple wanted to showcase this spirit of cooperation in their Star-Trek-superhero-science-fiction-themed wedding.

Guests, many of whom hailed from the local "Star Trek" club, the U.S.S. Alaric, were encouraged to attend the ceremony in any costume they felt comfortable in that fit the theme.

"One of the many things about 'Star Trek' that's very important is that people are working together. ... The Enterprise crew worked together in a positive relationship and accomplished great things," Heim said, relating the idea to what he and Stanton wish for in their marriage.

As the minister finally announced the couple as Mr. and Mrs. crew members of the Starship Enterprise, Darth Vader, the Phantom of the Opera and even Dorothy Gale celebrated with high hopes that the happy couple will live long and prosper.