After they sealed their marriage with a few kisses, the couple took a brief joyride in their golf cart — empty cans bouncing around Third Avenue — before returning to the Mystic Gardens parking lot.

Coen, 47, read about the drive-thru weddings at Mystic Gardens online, he said, and proposed the idea to Wardwell, adding that they could get married in their golf cart. It was a fixer-upper gift from a friend that they like to take out on the road. Wardwell laughed at the idea quite a bit, she said, but ultimately agreed.

The couple drove to Camas from their home in Molalla, Ore., with nine family members and friends Wednesday, the 26th anniversary of when they started dating. As relatives wiped tears from their eyes, some said they still couldn’t believe the couple finally got married.

After the ceremony, Coen and Wardwell reminisced about their first date, which was supposed to be dinner followed by some bar hopping. The two connected instantly, though, and stayed at the restaurant all night, dancing and enjoying each other’s company.

They both said the ceremony was exactly what they were looking for.

“It was a one-of-a-kind wedding,” Wardwell said.

Mystic’s mythicism

For Rick, performing weddings started with her death.

In late 1993, she got chicken pox, which later spread to her lungs. While in the hospital, she was placed in a medically induced coma and then fell into a full coma. At one point, she was declared legally dead and came back to life. Rick said she remembers none of it.