Yellowknife (Feb 19/03) - Tony Whitford has seen, heard and done it all, at least when it comes to weddings.

He has been marrying couples off since 1972 and over the past 31 years has performed about 350 ceremonies.

"I just love doing them," Whitford said as he reflected on some of his more memorable experiences.

"I did my first one in the fall (of 1972) in Fort Smith. The couple, I still see them to this day, and they are still married," he said.

"We have no guarantees in life. It's nice to see people exchange vows and say to me '10, 15 or 20 years ago you did our wedding and we're still together.'"

He's married people in airplanes above Great Slave Lake, on pilots' monument, on beaches, and he was the first person to perform a ceremony in the legislative assembly building. Whitford tries to keep a memento, such as a photograph, from each wedding he performs to remind him of the day.

"I think it's a great honour to perform a ceremony," he said. "One of the dearest weddings I did, it felt like family. It was a young lady who lived four or five blocks from where our boys grew up."

Whitford remembers the bride in particular. "She was dressed in a beautiful white gown. At one point we had to climb a hill (near Prelude Lake) and she had to step up over a rock. When she did she had to lift up her dress and she was wearing white running shoes. If I ever write a book that will be one of the chapters: The bride wore running shoes."

Over the years Whitford has developed his own repertoire of wedding music and ceremonies.

"I have several wedding ceremonies and often a couple will say 'we want this for the wedding' and 'here's what we want,'" said Whitford. "Others will say we'll leave it in your hands."

In those situations Whitford said he's always had a knack for understanding the couples' character and putting together a ceremony they will like.

For those who can't decide on music he even has his own collection. He calls the small assortment of wedding albums Tony's favourites.