Temple City Woman Says ‘I Do’ at the Zoo

When Temple City resident Marilyn Swiatek got married Tuesday, she and her husband didn’t opt for the predictable wedding chapel, courthouse or flowery garden gazebo.

Instead, the two exchanged vows at the Cincinnati Zoo.

Swiatek, 39, a registed nurse, said the unusual setting made perfect sense--she and husband Allen Goldfeder are avowed vegetarians and animal-lovers. Goldfeder, an Ohio resident, volunteers at the zoo on weekends.

During the ceremony, Goldfeder entertained guests by showing off an opossum, a couple of ferrets, a woodchuck and guinea pigs. Afterward, the bride and groom cut a tofu wedding cake, but chose not to drive off in a limousine, for fear the seats would be made of leather.

The couple met last year through a personal advertisement in a national vegetarian magazine, At the Gate. In May, Swiatek flew to Cincinnati for their first date--a trip to the zoo.