A wedding at TOM House

On Thursday August 14, the first ever wedding was held at TOM House when author Tom Cho and scholar Jackie Wykes were married in the backyard garden at sunset.

In February this year, Tom had a four day stay at TOM House. This stay informed his essay on Tom of Finland, which was published by Canadian national newspaper National Post in May (Part 1 and Part 2 of this two-part essay, “Tom and Me”, can be read online). In June, as Tom prepared to return to TOM House for a longer stay, Jackie – who had edited Tom’s essay – suggested TOM House as the venue for their forthcoming wedding.

The Foundation set up a dedicated space for the ceremony, complete with a canopy, seating and two large figures of men from Tom of Finland’s work. As a special loan for the ceremony, Tom wore one of Tom of Finland’s leather jackets. Leading Jackie down the aisle were two daddies for the day: Tom of Finland Foundation President Durk Dehner and Vice President S. R. Sharp. Live DJing was provided by the Foundation’s DJ, Rod Reynolds, and the ceremony was filmed by Stuart Sandford, resident artist at TOM House. Artist Leon Mostovoy took photos of the ceremony.

Photo: Leon Mostovoy

Tom and Jackie are both appreciators of Tom of Finland’s work, with Tom in particular being a long-time fan of the artist. In addition, Tom and Jackie were so moved by the foundation’s hospitality that, a few days after the ceremony, they formally became appreciators of Tom of Finland Foundation – by becoming members.

Photo: Leon Mostovoy

Published: 20th August 2014

Categorised in: Friends of Tom