Hitch ‘n’ a Ride Great for Couple : Celebration: Fullerton pair get married at foot of Ferris wheel as part of carnival’s 17-day 100th anniversary celebration.

Wedding bells rang at the Orange County Fair on Saturday as a Fullerton couple tied the knot aboard a Ferris wheel.

With a mime bearing rings and a clown tossing fuchsia petals, Cyndi LeFrois, 24, and Jeff Moses, 27, exchanged vows and a first nuptial kiss before hundreds of fair-goers at the foot of the “Global Wheel.”

Screams of delight from children on nearby rides almost drowned out the ceremony, then cheers erupted from the pizza and ice cream stands when the pronouncement of husband and wife came over the microphone.

“It’s very wacky, but, you know, we’re pretty wacky,” the groom said as he finished adjusting his tuxedo in the fair’s Administration Building.

“Everybody should do it this way,” laughed the bride, explaining that the cool, peaceful ride on the Ferris wheel removed all her wedding-day anxiety.

To win the first wedding package ever offered by the fair, LeFrois and Moses defeated 16 other couples in an essay contest that asked them to finish the statement, “Marriage is like a carnival ride because . . . “

Local businesses donated about $5,000 in wedding supplies, a champagne-and-cake reception in a trailer, a honeymoon cruise off the coast of Mexico, ruby rings, flowers and formal clothes.

The ceremony was part of the fair’s 17-day 100th anniversary celebration, which includes a christening for children and the burial of a time capsule filled with memorabilia and historical records.

Moses said he entered the contest on a whim after his mother told him about it. During the wedding, his essay was read by the Rev. Valerie Ross under the white canopy on the Ferris wheel ramp.

“The old man who operates the ride is standing nearby, watching,” Moses wrote. “We’re screaming with laughter, holding on tight. The world whirls as we smash through the sky, dive down and shoot up again. He smiles, knowing what’s in store. We don’t. We just hold each other tighter, enjoying the ride.”

Those who know the couple were not surprised by their wedding plans. “They end up in circumstantial events that are very unusual all the time,” said Mike Occhiato, an usher. “This would be in character completely.”

“These two are very unorthodox when it comes to doing anything normal people do,” said Jerry LeFrois, the father of the bride.

Neighbors and distant relatives, who had read about the wedding, went to the ceremony to convey their regards. Total strangers heard the band playing and took time out from contests and games to witness the event.

“We’ve seen a lot of different weddings in our lifetime, and this was really something,” said Maxine Pettingale of Torrance, who married her husband, James, 47 years ago in a brief ceremony before he went off to war. “It was beautiful.”

After the newlyweds made a solo round in a car decorated with a “Just Married” sign and white tissue-paper wedding bells, friends of LeFrois and Moses piled onto the Ferris wheel. No one collected the five coupons, worth $3, the ride normally costs. Off to the side, Quick-Draw Charlie, a fair staple, was ready with a caricature of the bride and groom titled “Our Day at the Orange County Fair.”

“It’s real easy to do a typical wedding,” said Bob Eras, who used to play in a band with Moses. “It’s tough to do something like this.”