Lust at the Ozoner

Sunday, June 8, at 7 p.m., the Midway Drive-In united both extremes and the result was, well, a wedding: David Vincent Eaton and Summer Lynn David exchanged their nuptial vows at a tent parked alongside the Minetto drive-in’s perimeter next to Route 48. The blushing bride is a nanny for several families; the groom is a manager at the Kohl’s clothing store in Auburn. The couple reside in Liverpool. 

Summer’s mom, Gail David of Mattydale, revealed that her daughter and future son-in-law first met on the eHarmony matchmaking Web site last summer and quickly set up a movie date at the Midway,where Gail and her late husband, Timothy S. David, regularly broughtthe family (including sons Shane and Travis, who gave away the bride)when they were youngsters. Thus, as the Midway was screening theapple-pie fare of Ratatouille and Underdog last August, true romance was a-borning.

Screen gems: David Vincent Eaton and Summer Lynn David held their June 8 wedding at Minetto’s
Midway Drive-In on Route 48. Bill DeLapp photo.

Next came the couple’s unorthodox ideato get hitched at the drive-in, with Midway manager John Nagelschmidt proposing the June 8 date. After all, he was already planning his own special bashes for the Midway, which celebrates its 60th birthday under the stars this year, as well as the 75th anniversary of America’s very first drive-in. (Nagelschmidt also said the Midway recently received proclamations from New York Gov. David Paterson and President George W.Bush.)

The cinema theme carried into the bridal invitations,which featured ducats promising an “exclusive Hollywood after-party,” a concession stand display in the tent with a menu and mustard and ketchup condiments, and a wedding cake decorated like a stack ofprojection reels. Those after-party tickets also functioned as part of the reception, as invited guests partook of burgers, fries and other goodies at the stand, with Midway sous chef Carl (who wore an apron proclaiming himself “King of the Grill”) in charge of the chow. And while Nagelschmidt offered to play a CD of typical wedding music overthe drive-in’s sound system, the betrothed preferred listening instead to the Midway’s usual oldies mix.

Nagelschmidt has commissioned commemorative coins tohonor the Midway’s 60th year, available for sale at the concessionstand. He also had some special medallions minted for the youngmarrieds: One side shows the drive-in’s nautical logo, while the flipside reveals the canoodling couple’s car in front of a looming screen. 

There was one more surprise in store for the weddingguests, not to mention the usual Sunday night crowd at the Midway: a35mm film, running less than a minute, with David and Summer perchedatop the concession stand to thank their friends and family, as well asa brief memorial to Summer’s late father. Then the moonlit sky wasripped asunder by a hellacious fireworks display that could have beenheard at Fort Ontario, presumably followed by more fireworks betweenthe couple as they honeymooned at a Canandaigua bed-and-breakfast—butonly after the triple bill of Horton Hears a Who, Nim’s Island and Jumper had finally concluded at about 2:30 a.m. 

Other than one teensy drawback, Summer’s mother wasecstatic regarding the unconventional wedding’s smooth success. “{DavidEaton} is a very nice guy and I’m very happy,” Gail David said. “Summersaid I couldn’t bring my cowbell, though.” 

—Bill DeLapp