Comments (0) BEST HITCHING POST - 2009
Always Forever Yours Wedding Chapel
Walking down Manchester Avenue near Inglewood, a street lined with car-accessory stores, gas stations and the occasional strip joint, you'll come upon an out-of-place wedding chapel that invites investigation. Always Forever Yours Wedding Chapel is nothing fancy, to be sure, with its ceremonies advertised for "as low as $49." But there's more on offer for that 1970s-era price: It includes the minister, flowers, photos and certificates of marriage. In a metropolis where weddings can easily run $20,000, it's an intriguing place. The Rev. Don Johnson has been proprietor of Always Forever Yours since 1977, and he's learned some tricks to keep overhead lean. He picks up his marriage licenses at the county building in Beverly Hills, for instance, a place that requires little waiting time. According to the reverend, who delivers his information without irony, not that many people in Beverly Hills want to get married, but for those who do, the Rev. Johnson will preside over your vows, no matter your religion, location or time of day. He has administered vows in record stores, at motorcycle clubs and at the Greystone Mansion. But his most in-demand service is marrying people in jail. It seems that love does indeed conquer all. 2115 W. Manchester Ave., L.A. (323) 758-8443.
—Juliette Akinyi Ochieng
