Some Weddings You Never Forget
In [X] years of officiating in Houston, a few couples have left a permanent mark. These are their stories.
Hurricane Ike: “Some Vows Are Worth a Flight
Some Vows Are Worth a Flight
Hurricane Ike made landfall on Galveston Island in September 2008 as one of the most destructive storms in Texas history. For a couple who had planned their wedding on the island, the storm didn’t just threaten the celebration — it wiped it out entirely. Their venue was gone. Their plans were gone. Galveston was in ruins.
But they still wanted to get married.
Paul got the call. The couple had evacuated to Wichita, Kansas, where family had taken them in. The wedding couldn’t happen in Houston. It couldn’t happen in Galveston. But Paul wasn’t about to let a Category 2 hurricane be the reason two people didn’t get to say “I do.” He booked a flight and flew to Wichita.
The ceremony happened. Not in a chapel, not at a waterfront venue — in Wichita, Kansas, surrounded by the family who had sheltered them from the storm. The video from that day, titled “Wichita Comes Through to Save Galveston Couple’s Wedding,” captures exactly what it looks like when love refuses to be cancelled.
Paul flew home. The couple had their marriage. And somewhere in the wreckage of Ike’s aftermath, there was one story with a perfect ending.
Love After Lockup: “Lights, Camera, I Do”
Lights, Camera, I Do
Most wedding officiants can say they’ve performed ceremonies in churches, parks, backyards, and courthouses. Not many can say they’ve officiated a wedding that aired on national television.
WeTV’s Love After Lockup — the reality series following couples navigating relationships after incarceration — came to Westwind Club to film a live wedding. The dancefloor that has hosted countless Houston celebrations became a television set. The cameras rolled. The couple stood at the altar.
And Paul officiated.
For a show built on the idea that love can survive the hardest circumstances, the ceremony that unfolded at Westwind was exactly that — real, unscripted, and binding. No second takes. No rehearsals for the vows that actually counted. Just two people making it official, in front of a camera crew, a live audience, and Paul.
The episode aired on WeTV. The marriage was real.
Jonathan Joss: “The Man Who Played Cowboys Got Married Here”
The Man Who Played Cowboys Got Married Here
Jonathan Joss was a working actor with a filmography that read like a list of American classics. He voiced John Redcorn on King of the Hill. He appeared in Parks and Recreation, The Magnificent Seven, True Grit, and Tulsa King. He was a recognizable face in Hollywood productions and a respected figure in the Native American acting community.
He chose Westwind for his wedding. He chose Paul to officiate.
What came out of that day was one of the most memorable photos in Westwind’s history — The two of them posed together for a photo — and without either of them planning it or even noticing it in the moment, they both pointed at each other at the exact same time. A perfectly matched, spontaneous gesture that neither man realized had happened until they saw the picture. They both laughed about it afterward. It is the kind of photograph that doesn’t need a caption.
Jonathan Joss passed away in San Antonio. He left behind a career that touched millions of viewers, and a wedding day that Paul was honored to be part of. His story belongs on this page not because he was famous, but because he was a person who chose this place, this officiant, and this moment — and that moment was real.
4,000 ceremonies. Three stories that stay with you. Every couple who walks through these doors adds to a legacy that is still being written.