Honk 4 Love: Waterbury couple shares joy in drive-by wedding celebration

June 19, 2020  |  By Cheryl Casey

Groom Phil Whitcher and bride Danra Kazenski wave at passersby under the railroad bridge at the roundabout in Waterbury on Saturday, June 13. The pair eloped after the pandemic crisis forced them to cancel their wedding plans. / Courtesy photo

When it comes to celebrating, count on the Waterbury community to rally.

Danra Kazenski and Phil Whitcher found this out in a very special way last Saturday when they stood under the railroad bridge at the roundabout with a “Just Married” sign to celebrate their elopement.

Kazenski, 43, and Whitcher, 45, had originally planned a ceremony and reception on June 14 at Zenbarn, but as with so many other couples this year, they had to cancel because of COVID-19. Instead, they eloped to Lake Willoughby. 

To include friends in their wedding, the pair looked to recent birthday and graduation practices and announced a drive-by celebration. Kazenski even posted on Front Porch Forum about the event, seeking anyone willing to donate early-blooming peonies for her bouquet.

Standing under the railroad bridge, Kazenski and Whitcher found themselves at the center of a community-wide celebration. Plenty of friends drove by, tossing gifts out of their car windows, but plenty of strangers also took the time to honk their congratulations. Zachary’s Pizza brought over some cheesecake. 

Pedestrians stopped to give well-wishes, and two women even brought the couple a bottle of champagne. “We kept on thinking the other person knew [these people] somehow,” laughed Whitcher. 

The big surprise of the day was an appearance by the couple’s favorite musician, Dave Keller. Originally booked to play the wedding, Keller “serenaded us under the bridge with the two songs we were going to have him sing at the ceremony,” explained Kazenski. “It was pretty magical!”

Keller called the pair of fans “hilarious, nerdy and loving” and he wanted to catch their big day. “I thought it would be fun to surprise them with some music,” he said. 

The pair also acknowledged that they were celebrating their wedding in the middle of a very dark time for the country. They committed to donating $1 to Black Lives Matter for every honk they received at the roundabout. Having lost count at 150 honks, Kazenski and Whitcher are donating $250.

Kazenski, a speech-language pathologist who moved from Pittsburgh to Vermont for college and stayed, and Whitcher, a behavior interventionist from New Hampshire, spent their first date browsing the Waterbury flea market and lunching at Blackback Pub. On Sunday, Blackback served the bride and groom the same meal they had eaten there that first afternoon. The Pub also gifted them a bag full of special Waterbury treats. 

“Waterbury folks really knocked it out of the park to rally behind love. It meant so much to us,” said Kazenski. 

Whitcher agreed, adding, “I fell in love with Danra, and I fell in love with Waterbury.”

When asked what they each thought was the best part of the weekend, Kazenski and Whitcher replied in unison, without hesitation, “Dave Keller!”

Great soulmates think alike. 

Cheryl Casey is an associate professor of communication at Champlain College. She lives in Waterbury Center.